Trump Pushes Relocation Of Palestinian Refugees From Gaza To Arab Countries

JAKARTA In a 20-minute interview with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, January 25 local time, United States President Donald Trump expressed his desire for Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab countries to receive more Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip.

Trump said this move could help "clean up" the ravaged Gaza of war as reported by the Associated Press (AP) news agency and the BBC this morning.

Trump also said he had discussions with Jordan's King Abdullah II on the same day and planned to talk to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Sunday.

"I want them to accept the (Palestinian) people. I want Egypt to accept them," Trump said.

"Maybe we're talking about one and a half million people, then we clean everything up and say, 'It's done.'"

According to Trump, the war between Israel and Hamas has caused major destruction in Gaza. He also praised Jordan for successfully accepting Palestinian refugees earlier and asked the country to take more refugees.

"I want them to take more. Because, if we look at the Gaza Strip right now, it's really chaos," he added.

Trump believes the massive relocation could be temporary or long-term, depending on the situation.

"This area, for centuries, has experienced many conflicts," he said.

He added that Gaza is currently like a "dismantling location" and almost all of its territory is destroyed.

"It's better for us to work with Arab countries to build housing in other locations, where they can live peacefully," he concluded.