 "President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Tuesday. AP")
Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday met US President Donald Trump and told him that his country was ready to take in some 2,000 sick children from war-torn Gaza as Trump restated his idea of removing all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and finding them homes in Jordan and Egypt, then turning their territory into a high-end “riviera.
Trump doubled down on his plan despite widespread opposition among Washington’s Arab allies, including Jordan.
Shortly after the king and his son arrived at the White House, reporters were brought into the Oval Office, where the US president indicated he would remain firm on his plan to take control of Gaza, relocate its traumatised residents, and revitalise the war-torn area.
“We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it. We’re going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying, adding his plan would “bring peace” to the region.
Trump has said he would consider withholding aid from Jordan if it refuses to resettle Palestinians.
King Abdullah, who has previously rejected any moves to annex land and displace Palestinians, said that Egypt would present a plan on working with the US over Washington’s Gaza takeover proposal.
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More Shorts“President Trump is looking at Egypt coming to present that plan. As I said, we will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we should work with the president and with the United States,” AFP quoted king Abdullah as saying.
“Let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president,” he added.
“I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state, that is possible,” said Abdullah.
Last week, Trump stunned the world when he announced a proposal for the US to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” - but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.
The meeting between Trump and king Abdullah is happening at a perilous moment for the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza as Hamas, accusing Israel of violating the truce, has said it is pausing future releases of hostages and as Trump has called for Israel to resume fighting if all those remaining in captivity are not freed by Saturday.
Trump warned on Monday that “all hell” would break out if Hamas fails to meet the deadline.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Hamas did not meet the deadline.
Trump said he doubted that the Palestinian militant group would abide by the ultimatum.
“I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline personally. I think they want to play a tough guy, but we’ll see how tough they are,” Trump said.
But he played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.
“It’s not going to take a long time when you know bullies,” he added, referring to Hamas.
The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
With inputs from agencies