12 hours ago
4
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
and Jordan's King Abdullah II on Wednesday firmly rejected the
forced displacement of Palestinians
from war-torn Gaza, after comments by US President Donald Trump, suggesting that Gazans be relocated to Egypt and Jordan.
In his first public response to Trump’s remarks, Sisi said that removing "the Palestinian people from their land is an injustice that we cannot take part in." Speaking at a press conference in Cairo alongside Kenyan President William Ruto, he reaffirmed Egypt’s unwavering support for the creation of a Palestinian state.
"Our historic position in favour of a Palestinian state can never be compromised," Sisi said. However, he added that Egypt remains "determined to work with President Trump, who seeks to achieve the desired peace based on the
two-state solution
," expressing confidence in Trump's ability to facilitate "a just and lasting peace in the Middle East."
Meanwhile, in Brussels, Jordan’s King Abdullah II reiterated his country’s "firm position on the need to keep the Palestinians on their land and to guarantee their legitimate rights, in accordance with the Israeli and Palestinian two-state solution."
Trump had first floated the idea of relocating Gazans after an Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect on January 19 and reiterated it on Monday.
Speaking to reporters, he suggested that Egypt and Jordan could absorb displaced Palestinians.
"We helped them a lot, and I’m sure he’d help us," Trump said, referring to Sisi. "As they say, it’s a rough neighbourhood, but I think he would do it, and I think the king of Jordan would do it too."
The proposal has been widely condemned by regional leaders, as well as by Germany and France, both of which labelled it "unacceptable."
However, Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called it a "great idea" and said he was working with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to develop an operational plan to implement it.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, both Egypt and Jordan have repeatedly warned against any efforts to forcibly relocate Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, arguing that such moves would undermine the prospects of
Palestinian statehood
.
Sisi has consistently maintained that mass displacement of Gazans would "eradicate the case for Palestinian statehood."
Both Egypt and Jordan, key US allies in the region, are heavily dependent on foreign aid, with Washington serving as one of their largest donors.
