Trump proposal to 'clean out' Gaza gets cool reception

Donald Trump talks to reporters on Air Force One — 'You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,' Trump said on Air Force One

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt Sunday flatly rejected President Donald Trump's suggestion that Palestinians should leave Gaza and resettle in their countries on a "temporary or long-term" basis due to the widespread destruction in the Palestinian enclave from the 15-month war between Hamas and Israel.

Who said what

Gaza is a "literally a demolition site," and "I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change," Trump said Saturday on Air Force One. "You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing." About two million Palestinians live in Gaza.

Trump's suggestion "appeared to echo the wishes of the Israeli far right" and "goes to the heart of Palestinian fears that they will be driven from their remaining homelands," said The New York Times. "Trump enjoys being a disruptor, but this was closer to tossing a grenade," David Ignatius said at The Washington Post, especially for the "moderate Arab leaders who had been looking forward to working with him."

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"Our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians is firm and will not change," said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Palestinian leaders also spurned the idea, even if Trump may "appear to have good intentions under the guise of reconstruction," Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters.

What next?

Israel began allowing Palestinians back into northern Gaza Monday morning for the first time since the early weeks of the war, after Qatar resolved a dispute over implementation of the agreed ceasefire. "Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps" for more than a year were "eager to return to their homes," The Associated Press said, "even knowing that they have likely been damaged or destroyed."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.