president donald trump He said on Saturday he hoped Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries would accept more Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip, possibly evacuating enough of them to “clean up” the area that had been devastated in the war between Israel and Hamas. There is currently a ceasefire.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II earlier in the day and would speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday .

“I hope Egypt can take people out,” Trump said. “You’re talking about maybe a million and a half million people and we just clear the whole thing out and say, ‘You know, it’s over.'”

Trump said he applauded Jordan for taking in Palestinian refugees, but told the king: “I wish you would take on more, because what I see now is the whole Gaza Strip, it’s a mess. It’s a real mess.”

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (Associated Press)

Dramatic displacement like this would go against Palestinian identity and deep ties to Gaza.

“Palestinians in Gaza, like Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel, overwhelmingly can trace their roots to cities and villages in areas where Israel and Palestine are today,” said Palestinian and former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash. X reads. The idea that they are some kind of spillover from the rest of the so-called Arab world—that they are simply interchangeable with other “Arabs”—is wrong, but rhetorical devices are often used to dispel this idea. Their history in this land. “

“They are descendants of the Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians and other ancient Levantine peoples,” said liberal Amash. “Their ancestry overlaps with that of their Jewish neighbours, but they converted to Christianity, Islam and other religions. Any attempt to force them to leave or to force them to leave by threat of force is simply ethnic cleansing.”

But Trump said areas of the world, including Gaza, have “seen many, many conflicts” over centuries and resettlement “could be temporary or it could be long-term.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (Associated Press)

“Something has to happen,” Trump said. “But now it’s actually a demolition site. Almost everything has been demolished and people are dying there. So, I would rather work with some Arab countries to build housing in different places where they can maybe live peacefully for Change.”

senior israeli official According to Israel’s Channel 12, “Trump’s statement about Gazans immigrating to Muslim countries was not a slip of the tongue but part of a broader coordinated effort with Israel than appears.”

After taking office on Monday, Trump said Gaza “really has to be built back differently.”

“Gaza is interesting,” he added. “It’s a phenomenal location, being out on the ocean. The best weather, you know, everything’s great. Like, there’s some beautiful things you can do with it, but it’s so much fun.”

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (Associated Press)

Trump also said on Saturday he was ending former President Joe Biden’s practice of sending 2,000 pounds of bombs to Israel during the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which has been a week-old ceasefire.

“We released them today,” Trump said of the bombs. “They’ve been waiting for them for a long time.” Trump said he lifted the ban on bombs “because they bought them.”

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Biden halted bomb shipments in May to prevent Israel from launching a sweeping attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Lasted 15 months Gaza war On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, triggering military retaliation from the Israeli army. Nearly 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.