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A2 U.S. NEWS
Monday 27 January 2025
Trump wants Jordan and Egypt to accept more Palestinian

refugees and floats plan to 'clean out' Gaza

from the Gaza Strip, poten- bought them.” don’t know,” said Graham,
tially moving out enough of Trump has built his political R-S.C.
the population to “just clean career around being un- “The idea that all the Pales-
out” the war-torn area to apologetically pro-Israel. tinians are going to leave
create a virtual clean slate. On his larger vision for Gaza, and go somewhere else, I
During a 20-minute question- Trump said he had call ear- don’t see that to be overly
and-answer session Satur- lier in the day with King practical,” Graham said. He
day with reporters aboard Abdullah II of Jordan and added, though, that Trump
Air Force One, Trump also would speak Sunday with should keep talking to Mid-
said he has ended his pre- President Abdel Fattah el- east leaders, including Saudi
decessor’s hold on sending Sissi of Egypt. Crown Prince Mohammed
2,000-pound bombs to Isra- “I’d like Egypt to take peo- bin Salman and officials in
el. That lifts a pressure point ple, and I’d like Jordan to the United Arab Emirates
meant to reduce civilian take people,” Trump said. and Egypt.
casualties during Israel's war “You’re talking about prob- “I don’t know what he’s
with Hamas in Gaza, which ably a million and a half talking about. But go talk
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force is now halted by a tenuous people, we just clean out to MBS, go talk to UAE, go
One as he travels from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday, Jan. ceasefire. that whole thing." talk to Egypt,” Graham said.
25, 2025. “We released them today," Trump said he compliment- “What is their plan for the
Associated Press.
Trump said of the bombs. ed Jordan for having suc- Palestinians? Do they want
By WILL WEISSERT and Trump said he would like to “They’ve been waiting cessfully accepted Pales- them all to leave?”
ZEKE MILLER see Jordan, Egypt and other for them for a long time." tinian refugees and that he Trump has offered nontra-
Associated Press Arab nations increase the Asked why he lifted the ban told the king, “I’d love for ditional views on the future
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE number of Palestinian refu- on those bombs, Trump re- you to take on more, cause of Gaza in the past. He sug-
(AP) — President Donald gees they are accepting sponded, “Because they I’m looking at the whole gested after he was inaugu-
Gaza Strip right now, and rated on Monday that Gaza
it’s a mess. It’s a real mess.” has “really got to be rebuilt
Such a drastic displacement in a different way."
of people would openly The new president added
contradict Palestinian iden- then, ”Gaza is interesting.
tity and deep connection to It’s a phenomenal location,
Gaza. Still, Trump said the on the sea. The best weath-
part of the world that en- er, you know, everything is
compasses Gaza, has “had good. It’s like, some beauti-
many, many conflicts” over ful things could be done with
centuries. He said resettling it, but it’s very interesting."
“could be temporary or long Resuming delivery of large
term.” bombs, meanwhile, is a
“Something has to happen," break with then-President
Trump said. “But it’s literally Joe Biden, who halted their
a demolition site right now. delivery in May as part of
Almost everything’s demol- an effort to keep Israel from
ished, and people are dy- launching an all-out assault
ing there.” He added: “So, on the southern Gaza city of
I’d rather get involved with Rafah. A month later, Israel
some of the Arab nations, did take control of the city,
and build housing in a dif- but after the vast majority
ferent location, where they of the 1 million civilians that
can maybe live in peace for had been living or sheltering
a change.” in Rafah had fled.
Israeli Prime Minister Benja- “Civilians have been killed
min Netanyahu, in a state- in Gaza as a consequence
ment Sunday, thanked of those bombs and other
Trump for “keeping your ways in which they go after
promise to give Israel the population centers,” Biden
tools it needs to defend it- told CNN in May when he
self.” He did not mention held up the weapons. “I
Trump's suggestion on Pal- made it clear that if they
estinian refugees. go into Rafah ... I’m not
But Jordan’s foreign minister, supplying the weapons that
Ayman Safadi, told reporters have been used historically
that his country’s rejection to deal with Rafah, to deal
of the proposed transfer of with the cities, that deal with
Palestinians was “firm and that problem.”
unwavering.” The Biden pause had also
Sen. Lindsay Graham, a held up 1,700 500-pound
Trump ally, was asked on bombs that had been
CNN's “State of the Union” packaged in the same ship-
about what Trump meant ment to Israel, but weeks
with his remark about Pal- later those bombs were
estinians. "You know, I really delivered.q