WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump wants to be a “peacemaker” in his second term, expanding the Abraham Accords and brokering what could be the “Deal of the Millennium,” a peace and normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
But is he now on a collision course with his closets Arab allies?
Last month, Trump floated an unheard of proposal.
He suggested moving 2.3 million Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and relocating them to nearby countries like Egypt and Jordan while Gaza is cleared of terrorists, bombs, and debris and rebuilt from scratch.
“It’s literally a demolition site right now,” Trump said of the destruction in Gaza, arguing it’s too dangerous for anyone to live in while the rest of the world tries to figure out how to rebuild it.
After his trip through the Mideast, including going into Gaza, White House envoy Steve Witkoff — a highly successful New York real estate developer— told Axios reporters that rebuilding Gaza could take between 10 and 15 years.
It’s a creative idea, characteristic of Trump’s “out of the box” thinking.
There’s just one problem.
Arab leaders, even close friends of the United States, hate the idea and have rejected it outright.
“Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League released a joint statement rejecting any plans to move Palestinians out of their territories,” reported the Associated Press on Saturday.
That’s not sitting well with Trump.
Trump doesn’t see the Arab leaders offering a viable solution of their own.
Nor does he believe they have even taken the time to consider his idea seriously.
So, Trump is doubling-down, insisting that America’s Arab allies quickly reconsider.
“They will do it. They will do it. They’re gonna do it, okay? We do a lot for them, and they’re gonna do it,” Trump said after hearing various Arab leaders dismiss his idea.
Now what?
Trump will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House tomorrow, his first foreign guest.
Next week, he will welcome Jordan’s King Abdullah II, his second foreign guest.
The future of the Palestinians in Gaza is one of the most significant items on the agenda of both meetings.
