Five Arab countries came out strongly against President Donald Trump's idea of relocation and temporary housing for the more than 1 million Palestinians still in Gaza in a statement released earlier on Saturday.
Top leaders of Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar "firmly" rejected the U.S. president's plan and expressed a commitment to rebuilding the Gaza Strip, which Trump's Middle East envoy recently said could take 10 to 15 years to accomplish.
The Arab leaders said that a rebuilding of the strip would ensure "the continued presence of Palestinians in their homeland,” adding that they "firmly rejected any actions that threaten these rights, including settlement expansion, forced evictions, home demolitions, land annexation, or the displacement of Palestinians through direct expulsion or coerced migration."
They did, however, express a desire to work with Trump on a two-state solution for Israel and Gaza, something the president has not entirely committed to.
Speaking on the conflict in a Time interview a month before his inauguration, Trump said, "I want a long lasting peace. I'm not saying that's a very likely scenario ... I want a peace where we don't have an Oct. 7 in another three years. You can do it two state, but there are numerous ways it can be done. I'd like to see everybody be happy."
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Last weekend, Trump floated relocating Palestinians to countries such as Egypt and Jordan and setting up temporary housing there for an unspecified length of time. The leaders of both of those countries quickly rejected the idea.
The pushback from other Arab countries follows a visit to Gaza by Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy. He called the area "uninhabitable," adding that "There is nothing left standing."