The Palestinians in Gaza have raised concerns over US President Donald Trump’s recent comments, saying he wishes to see Egypt, Jordan, and other Middle Eastern states accept a majority of the Palestinians before a new virtual and clean state is reconstructed.
His comments quickly received massive backlash from Palestinians living in Gaza, saying “that they will not move out of Gaza at any cost.”
Hamas has also reacted to the development, calling Trump's comments as unnecessary as the two sides, Israel and Hamas, were conducting prisoner swaps as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, “I’d love for you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess.”
Such a drastic displacement of people would openly contradict Palestinian identity and deep connection to Gaza. Still, Trump said the part of the world that encompasses Gaza has “had many, many conflicts” over centuries. He said resettling “could be temporary or long-term."
“Something has to happen,” Trump said. “But it’s a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there.” He added, "So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”
Meanwhile, Israel on Monday began allowing Palestinians to return to the destroyed north of the Gaza Strip for the first time since the ceasefire
Thousands of Gaza residents headed north after waiting for several days to cross over; reports suggest that people were crossing the Netzarim corridor shortly after 7 a.m. when the checkpoints were scheduled to open.
The opening was delayed for two days over a dispute between Hamas and Israel, which was resolved overnight by the mediators.
The ceasefire is aimed at ceasing hostilities between Hamas and Israel following the deadliest 15-month-long war
Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the IDF ordered the mass-scale evacuation of north Gaza. Around 1.7 million people were forced to take refuge in southern Gaza.
Israel had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to take place over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians to enter north Gaza until a female civilian, Arbel Yehoud, was released.
The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, announced early Monday that an agreement had been reached to release Yehoud along with two other hostages before Friday.
Hamas started the war when thousands of its fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,139 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 90 hostages are still inside Gaza, and Israel believes around a third are dead.
Israeli bombardment and ground operations have displaced around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and flattened entire neighbourhoods.
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