Israeli far-right minister vows to ensure implementing 'great' Trump idea on Gaza as soon as possible

AFP , Sunday 26 Jan 2025

Far-right Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich welcomed on Sunday US President Donald Trump's idea to "clean out" Gaza by relocating Palestinian residents from the territory to Egypt and Jordan, affirming that he will work with his cabinet to ensure the implementation of the idea as soon as possible.

GAZA
This aerial photo shows displaced Gazans gathering in an area in Nuseirat on January 26, 2025, to return to their homes in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. AFP

 

On Saturday, Trump said he had spoken to Jordan's King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out of Gaza.

"I'd like Egypt to take people. And I'd like Jordan to take people," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that he expected to talk to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday.

Smotrich, a strong opponent of stopping the war in Gaza, welcomed the idea.

"The idea of helping them find other places to start a better life is a great idea. After years of glorifying terrorism, they will be able to establish new and good lives in other places," Smotrich said in a statement.

"Only out-of-the-box thinking with new solutions will bring a solution of peace and security," he added.

"I will, with God's help, work with the prime minister and the cabinet to ensure there is an operational plan to implement this as soon as possible," Smotrich said.

For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark historical memories of what the Arab world calls the "Nakba" or catastrophe the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.

Egypt has previously warned against any "forced displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza into the Sinai desert, which Sisi said could jeopardise the peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979.

Jordan is already home to around 2.3 million registered Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations.

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