Donald Trump meets Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday for a likely tense discussion over his Gaza redevelopment plan and threat to cut aid if Amman refuses to resettle Palestinians.
Trump’s proposal, floated one week ago, for the U.S. to take over Gaza, move its shell-shocked residents and transform the war-ravaged territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” drew a negative response from the Arab world.
The concept has introduced new complexity into a sensitive regional dynamic, including a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Trump’s Deadline To Hamas
Hamas on Monday said it would stop releasing Israeli hostages from Gaza until further notice, saying Israel was violating the agreement to end strikes that have pummeled Gaza.
Trump later proposed cancelling the ceasefire if Hamas doesn’t release all remaining hostages it took on October 7, 2023, by the weekend.
“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday,” Trump said.
Hamas Responds
A Hamas official said on Tuesday that Israeli hostages can only be released if a ceasefire is upheld, rejecting “threatening language” after Trump set the deadline.
“I do think he’ll take” refugees, Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday of Jordan’s King Abdullah ahead of the talks on Gaza’s future.
Asked if he would withhold aid from Jordan and Egypt if they declined to do so, Trump said: “Yeah, maybe, sure, why not… if they don’t agree I would conceivably withhold aid.”
Sandwiched between Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel and the occupied West Bank, Jordan is already home to more than 2 million Palestinian refugees in its population of 11 million, their status and number long providing a source of anxiety for the country’s leadership.
Jordan’s US Dependency
Amman has come to depend on Washington as its largest source of economic and military assistance for decades, which now stands at more than $1 billion a year.
Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 but has strained relations with its neighbour.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Trump’s proposal is worthy of exploration.
(With inputs from Reuters)
