In Cairo, leading Arab nations on Saturday voiced their rejection of President Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazan Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan.
A joint statement issued by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League, denounced any plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.
Trump had suggested this relocation last month, proposing that Jordan and Egypt accept Gaza’s largely displaced population, stating a desire to “clean out that whole thing.” He indicated that resettlement of Gaza’s 2.3 million population could be temporary or permanent. Some Israeli officials had earlier broached the idea of transfer during the conflict.
Trump described Gaza as “literally a demolition site,” referencing the extensive destruction caused by Israel’s 15-month war with Hamas, currently paused under a fragile ceasefire.
The Arab statement cautioned that such plans would “threaten regional stability, risk escalating the conflict, and undermine the prospects for peace and coexistence.”
This statement followed a Cairo meeting of high-level diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, along with senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh (key liaison with Israel) and Arab League head Ahmed Aboul-Gheit.
The statement expressed a desire to collaborate with the Trump administration to “achieve a just and comprehensive Middle East peace, based on the two-state solution.”
They urged the international community to assist in “planning and implementing” a comprehensive Gaza reconstruction plan to ensure Palestinians remain on their land.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi had already rejected Trump’s suggestion during a press conference last week, stating that the transfer of Palestinians “can’t ever be tolerated or allowed.”
He affirmed that “The solution to this issue is the two-state solution. It is the establishment of a Palestinian state,” adding, “The solution is not to remove the Palestinian people from their place. No.”
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also declared his country’s opposition to Trump’s proposal as “firm and unwavering.”
Egypt and Jordan, along with the Palestinians, fear that Israel would prevent their return to Gaza should they leave. They also worry about the economic strain and potential instability such a refugee influx would create.
Jordan already hosts over 2 million Palestinians. Egypt has raised concerns about the security implications of relocating large numbers of Palestinians to its Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza.
Both countries were among the first to make peace with Israel, yet they continue to support the creation of a Palestinian state encompassing the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem—territories Israel captured in the 1967 war.
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