Arab Nations reject Trump’s Gaza displacement plan, warn of instability

The foreign ministers of five Arab nations and a senior Palestinian official have strongly opposed U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to forcibly relocate Gazans to neighboring countries, calling it a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability.

File Source: NY Times

In a joint letter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, the diplomats from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, alongside Palestinian presidential adviser Hussein al-Sheikh, condemned the controversial plan, warning that it would exacerbate tensions across West Asia.

Trump’s remarks on January 25, suggesting the “cleaning out” of Gaza and relocating its residents to Jordan and Egypt, sparked widespread outrage, with critics seeing the plan as a devastating blow to the two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proposal called for either temporary or long-term displacement, further igniting condemnation from Palestine, the United Nations, and across the Arab world. Two days later, Trump again emphasized that Jordan and Egypt would be partners in his relocation plan, a suggestion firmly rejected by both countries’ leaders, King Abdullah II and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

On January 30, Trump maintained his stance, insisting that Jordan and Egypt would accept displaced Gazans, citing U.S. support to both nations. However, the joint letter from the Arab nations and the Palestinian official stressed that the region already shoulders the world’s largest displaced and refugee populations. “We must be vigilant not to increase the risk to regional stability by further displacement, even if only temporary as it increases the risk of radicalization and unrest in the region as a whole,” they cautioned.

The letter also emphasized that any reconstruction efforts in Gaza must involve its Palestinian residents, reiterating the Palestinians’ desire to remain on their land. “Palestinians do not want to leave their land. We support their position unequivocally,” the diplomats declared, affirming that the two-state solution remains the only path to a just and lasting peace.