ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) 鈥� President said he would like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of they are accepting from the Gaza Strip, potentially moving out enough of the population to 鈥渏ust clean out鈥� the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.
During a 20-minute question-and-answer session Saturday with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump also said he has ended his predecessor鈥檚 hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. That lifts a pressure point meant to reduce civilian casualties during in Gaza, which is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.
鈥淲e released them today," Trump said of the bombs. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been waiting for them for a long time." Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, 鈥淏ecause they bought them.鈥�
Trump has built his political career around being unapologetically pro-Israel. On his larger vision for Gaza, Trump said he had call earlier in the day with of Jordan and would speak Sunday with President of Egypt.
鈥淚鈥檇 like Egypt to take people, and I鈥檇 like Jordan to take people,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e talking about probably a million and a half people, we just clean out that whole thing."
Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, 鈥淚鈥檇 love for you to take on more, cause I鈥檓 looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it鈥檚 a mess. It鈥檚 a real mess.鈥�
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 鈥渉ad many, many conflicts鈥� over centuries. He said resettling 鈥渃ould be temporary or long term.鈥�
鈥淪omething has to happen," Trump said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything鈥檚 demolished, and people are dying there.鈥� He added: 鈥淪o, I鈥檇 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.鈥�
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement Sunday, thanked Trump for 鈥渒eeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself.鈥� He did not mention Trump's suggestion on Palestinian refugees.
But Jordan鈥檚 foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told reporters that his country鈥檚 rejection of the proposed transfer of Palestinians was 鈥渇irm and unwavering.鈥�
Sen. Lindsay Graham, a Trump ally, was asked on CNN's 鈥淪tate of the Union鈥� about what Trump meant with his remark about Palestinians. "You know, I really don鈥檛 know,鈥� said Graham, R-S.C.
鈥淭he idea that all the Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I don鈥檛 see that to be overly practical,鈥� Graham said. He added, though, that Trump should keep talking to Mideast leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and officials in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what he鈥檚 talking about. But go talk to MBS, go talk to UAE, go talk to Egypt,鈥� Graham said. 鈥淲hat is their plan for the Palestinians? Do they want them all to leave?鈥�
Trump has offered nontraditional views on the future of Gaza in the past. He suggested after he was inaugurated on Monday that Gaza has 鈥渞eally got to be rebuilt in a different way."
The new president added then, 鈥滸aza is interesting. It鈥檚 a phenomenal location, on the sea. The best weather, you know, everything is good. It鈥檚 like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but it鈥檚 very interesting."
Resuming delivery of large bombs, meanwhile, is a break with then-President Joe Biden, who halted their delivery in May as part of an effort to keep Israel from launching an all-out assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. A month later, Israel did take control of the city, but after the vast majority of the 1 million civilians that had been living or sheltering in Rafah had fled.
鈥淐ivilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,鈥� Biden told CNN in May when he held up the weapons. 鈥淚 made it clear that if they go into Rafah ... I鈥檓 not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.鈥�
The Biden pause had also held up 1,700 500-pound bombs that had been packaged in the same shipment to Israel, but weeks later those bombs were delivered.
Trump's action comes as he has celebrated the first phase of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that has paused the fighting and seen held by Hamas in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Negotiations have yet to begin in earnest on the more difficult second phase of the deal that would eventually see the release of all hostages held by Hamas and an enduring halt to the fighting.
If the remaining hostages are not released, the Israeli government has threatened to resume its war against Hamas, which launched a massive assault against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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Miller reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
Will Weissert And Zeke Miller, The Associated Press
