President Donald Trump revealed his support for relocating Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring Arab countries and announced the restoration of powerful bomb shipments to Israel, Associated Press reported Saturday.
Speaking to reporters during a 20-minute session aboard Air Force One, Trump disclosed that he had lifted restrictions on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. "We released them today," Trump said, Associated Press reported. When asked about his reasoning, he added, "Because they bought them."
The former president discussed his recent conversation with King Abdullah II of Jordan and announced plans for an upcoming discussion with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi about accepting Palestinians from Gaza, AP noted.
"I'd like Egypt to take people," Trump said, according to Associated Press. "You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, 'You know, it's over.'"
Trump praised Jordan's previous acceptance of Palestinian refugees and expressed interest in expanding this approach. "I'd love for you to take on more, cause I'm looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it's a mess. It's a real mess," Trump said he told the Jordanian king.
The decision to resume bomb shipments marks a departure from his predecessor's policy. President Joe Biden had suspended the delivery of these weapons in May to discourage an Israeli offensive in Rafah. "Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," Biden told CNN in May, explaining his decision to withhold certain weapons.
According to Associated Press, Trump acknowledged Gaza's current state of destruction. "It's literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything's demolished, and people are dying there," he said. He suggested his solution would involve working "with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change."
The announcement comes as a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues, allowing for hostage releases and prisoner exchanges. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has not responded to Trump's comments, AP reported.
After his inauguration, Trump suggested that Gaza "really got to be rebuilt in a different way" and called it "a phenomenal location, on the sea. The best weather, you know, everything is good. It's like, some beautiful things could be done with it," AP reported.
