King Abdullah II became the first Arab leader to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in his second term, with the focus of their discussion being Trump’s plan to “take control” of Gaza. As Trump has advocated for American ownership of Gaza and the forced relocation of all its residents, he has repeatedly pressured King Abdullah, as well as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to take in those Palestinian refugees.
Trump’s Gaza Plan
- Trump doubled down on his position that Palestinians living in Gaza would be moved elsewhere, without the right of return from the land and homes they were forced from.
- The plan, which was previously a vague idea to redevelop Gaza into a new “Riviera of the Middle East,” has grown more specific: Trump asserted that displaced Palestinians would be relocated to “parcels of land” in Egypt and Jordan:
- “We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it. We’re going to get it going eventually where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East.”
- Trump has continually stated that Palestinians would “want” to leave Gaza, which he described as a “hell-hole.”
What it Means for Jordan
- Though Trump remained firm on his convictions for the Gaza plan, he did back down from threats to withhold aid from Egypt and Jordan if they did not take in hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians.
- King Abdullah sought to walk a tightrope between offending or opposing Trump and making concessions towards the unacceptable plan.
- Jordan is a key regional ally for the United States and a top-three recipient of U.S. aid, having received nearly $30 billion in support since 1949, and is a crucial part of the U.S. network of allies in the Middle East.
- His visit to Washington will serve as an indicator for other actors in the Middle East about how they are able to approach Trump’s bullying tactics.
- Trump’s plan for Gaza is unacceptable for King Abdullah, who called it a “declaration of war” when it was first announced, and Jordan fears for its own security and the stability of the region.
The Need for an Alternative
- Abdullah avoided directly criticizing Trump’s plan for Gaza, instead pointing to an alternative that Egypt plans to reveal in the coming weeks.
- In remarks on social media after the meeting, Abdullah reiterated Jordan’s position against the relocation of Palestinians. Egyptian sources told The New Arab that Egypt’s el-Sisi will delay his visit to Washington until after an emergency Arab League summit on February 27 that is intended to find an alternative.
- The counter plan is expected to create a new Palestinian leadership council to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, which will be funded in part by Egypt and the Gulf states. However, there is still distance between Arab leaders over whether to deploy troops to Gaza and whether to dismantle the remainder of Hamas’ infrastructure.
- Some experts believe that Trump’s plan is a negotiating tactic to force Arab states to solve the problem on their own, but others simply see its haphazard announcement and inconsistent terms as typical of Trump’s statesmanship.
- Whether the plan is a calculated tactic or not, King Abdullah and Arab leadership must bring a viable alternative to the negotiating table if they hope to dissuade Trump.