US President said over the weekend that the Gaza Strip, which has been ravaged by war, should be cleared and its inhabitants forced to move to Egypt or Jordan. This sparked strong reactions from Palestinians and leaders in the Middle East.
When Trump met journalists on Monday, he stood firm on his view of the matter:
I would like to get them to live in an area where they can live without disturbances and uprisings and violence, he said according to international media, and described it as many civilizations having existed on the site and being followed by violence.
You could get people to live in areas that are much safer and perhaps much better and perhaps much more comfortable.
No Straight Answer
In response to a direct question about whether the US does not support a two-state solution, Donald Trump gave no straight answer. He said he would discuss it with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the near future.
In the current ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian extremist movement Hamas, large crowds have returned to ravaged homes in northern Gaza.
Suggestions to evacuate all inhabitants from Gaza lead Palestinians' thoughts to al-Nakba ("The Catastrophe"), which refers to the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians at the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.
"We Won't Leave"
We're telling Trump and the whole world: We won't leave Palestine or Gaza, no matter what happens, says Gazan Rashad al-Naji to AFP.
30-year-old Aida Hamodi from the city of Gaza, who has lived in a tent for over a year, is more anxious.
These statements would have been dismissed and not taken seriously earlier, she says to Haaretz.
In contrast to Biden, people are worried about Trump and what he might do. After this devastating war, we know that anything is possible.
Millions of Palestinians are formally refugees in the Middle East. Many live in refugee camps established as alternative communities over decades, many of them in neighboring countries where they have limited rights.
Dismissed
Trump's proposal has been rejected in its first stage by Egypt and Jordan. Qatar, which has been mediating the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, emphasizes in response to the proposal that the only way forward is a two-state solution.
Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli government stands or falls with right-wing extremist parties that want Israel to take control of Gaza.
