Doubling down, Trump suggests Gazans better off somewhere not ‘associated with violence’

US President Donald Trump doubles down on his desire for Egypt and Jordan to take in Gazans, suggesting that Palestinians would be better off somewhere not “associated with violence.”

“I’d like to get them living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence,” Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One.

“When you look at the Gaza Strip, it’s been hell for so many years… There have been various civilizations on that strip. It didn’t start here. It started thousands of years before, and there’s always been violence associated with it. You could get people living in areas that are a lot safer and maybe a lot better and maybe a lot more comfortable,” Trump says.

Asked if this stance means he no longer believes in a two-state solution, Trump avoids answering directly, saying he’ll be discussing the issue with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes to Washington to meet him “in the not so distant future.”

He says a date will be set for the meeting “very soon.”

Two sources familiar told The Times of Israel on Monday that Netanyahu’s office is planning for the premier to travel on Sunday to Washington, where he’ll meet Trump at the beginning of the week before returning to Israel on Wednesday. The trip has not been finalized and will depend on Netanyahu’s health as he recovers from prostate surgery, the sources said.

Asked how Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi received his idea of relocating Gazans to his country, Trump responds, “His response [was] that he’d like to see peace in the Middle East.”

“I’d like to see peace in the Middle East,” Trump adds.

Pressed further on how Sissi reacted to his idea, Trump insists that both the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders “would do it.”

“I’d love to do that. I wish [Sissi] would take some. We helped them a lot, and I’m sure he’d help us. He’s a friend of mine. He’s in… a rough neighborhood. But I think he would do it, and I think the King of Jordan would do it too,” Trump adds.

Both Egypt and Jordan have come out strongly against Trump’s idea, saying that Palestinians should be allowed to remain in Gaza, where members of Israel’s far right have been calling to reestablish settlements while advocating for the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the enclave.