Jordan is already home to more than 2 million Palestinian refugees, most of whom have Jordanian citizenship. Egypt has been adamant in refusing most Gazans entry during the conflict, although about 100,000 have crossed the border during the course of the conflict, according to the Palestinian Authority.
In addition to rebuilding Gaza, Trump and Netanyahu discussed the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, how to handle Iran, and normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The two leaders held a series of meetings at the White House, and planned to hold a private dinner there too.
Ahead of the meeting, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Turkey — another country that has been involved in brokering an end to the conflict — released a joint statement rejecting any proposal to displace or resettle Palestinians to “countries outside the Palestinian territories, either for short-term or long-term purposes.”
Many Gazans also rejected it.
“Our Palestinian people, and the people of Gaza in particular, are rooted here and will not go anywhere. If Trump wants to pave something, he can go pave the sea,” Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based political expert, wrote on Facebook.
So did Hamas, the militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and retains control of significant parts of Gaza.
“Trump's statements are racist, and a blatant attempt to liquidate our Palestinian cause and deny our established national rights,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.
Trump has invited Jordan’s King Abdullah II for a meeting in Washington next week. Egypt, meanwhile, is deeply dependent on the United States for military aid, giving Trump significant power in the relationship.
Trump, a former real estate developer, last month referred to Gaza as “a phenomenal location, on the sea, the best weather,” and added that “some fantastic things could be done with Gaza.” On Tuesday, he referred to the area as the “Riviera” of the Middle East and “something that could be so magnificent.”
He added: “I envision world people living there. The world’s people. I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable. And I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world, will be there, and they’ll live there. Palestinians, also, Palestinians will live there. Many people will live there.”
The visit comes at a difficult moment for Netanyahu, who has faced domestic criticism from members of his coalition for agreeing to a ceasefire, as well as international condemnation for his role in creating a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump was one part of several days of meetings as he adjusts to a Washington that has changed politically over the past few weeks, with Republicans who are more aligned with him now more ascendant. In addition to meetings with Trump administration officials Monday and Tuesday, Netanyahu is expected to visit with congressional leaders Thursday.
Despite Trump’s campaign promises to back Israel more enthusiastically than the Biden administration, he and Netanyahu do not see eye to eye about all aspects of the conflict.
Among other issues, Trump favors a swift and final end to the war. Netanyahu is facing a domestic rebellion from his right-wing coalition partners if he does not resume the fighting in Gaza once the hostages are released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. The Israeli leader will need to reconcile the differences.
The agreement, which was mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, began Jan. 19 and includes an initial phase of 42 days. Phase-two negotiations are expected to start this week, with some issues still unresolved. The initial ceasefire is supposed to continue even if the second phase is not agreed on in time.
“We’re going to try” to get to the second phase, Netanyahu said Tuesday ahead of the meeting.
Over the past two weeks, Hamas and allied militants have released 18 hostages who were abducted in the Oct. 7 attack, including 13 Israelis and five Thai nationals. Israel has also freed more than 580 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, allowed more aid to flow into Gaza and withdrawn its troops from key military posts in the enclave.
The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 47,000 people have been killed in the territory since the Oct. 7 attack. About 40 people are believed to still be held hostage in Gaza.
The two leaders also discussed normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. That was a goal during Trump’s first term, and something that Biden also made a priority.
Trump and Netanyahu also discussed Iran, which both U.S. and Israeli officials believe is at its weakest point in years. After the collapse of its regional proxies, Tehran has been left without most of the tools it has used for decades to exert power throughout the Middle East.
That vulnerability could provide an opening to some sort of deal with the United States and the international community. But it also makes Tehran more of a target for Iran hawks in both Israel and Washington, and could spur Iranian leaders to go forward in their efforts to develop a nuclear weapon, policymakers said.
Karen DeYoung in Washington, Shira Rubin in Tel Aviv and Hazem Balousha in Toronto contributed to this report.
