NNA - US President Donald Trump said Friday that he is "confident" Egypt and Jordan would take Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

"I heard somebody said they're not going to, but I think they will. I feel confident they will," Trump said from the Oval Office.

Trump doubled down Thursday on his controversial proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, insisting that Egypt and Jordan would comply, despite their repeated rejections.

"They will do it. They will do it. They’re going to do it, okay? We do a lot for them, and they’re going to do it," Trump told reporters when asked if he would consider measures to pressure Cairo and Amman to accept his plan.

Trump suggested over the weekend to “clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, describing the enclave as a “demolition site” after Israel’s genocidal war.

The two countries, however, vehemently rejected any call for the displacement or relocation of Palestinians from their land.

Trump's proposal came after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending the Israeli war, that has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza's health authorities.

Nearly 1,200 people were killed Oct. 7 in Israel and 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages, according to official figures.

Trump's proposal has received widespread condemnation, with critics calling it "ethnic cleansing" and a "war crime." Many countries in the Muslim and Arab world as well as European nations such as France have firmly rejected the idea. --- AA

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