The Jordanian monarch has offered to take in 2,000 at-risk children from Gaza but hasn’t committed to the larger relocation effort Trump proposed.
WASHINGTON—As he hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Feb. 11, President Donald Trump said he has the authority to order a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip and taxpayer dollars won’t be needed to obtain the land.
“We’re not going to buy anything. We’re going to have it. We’re going to keep it, and we’re going to make sure that there’s going to be peace,” Trump said, as he addressed reporters at the White House on Feb. 11, while sitting alongside the Jordanian monarch.
Trump has suggested the United States could rebuild the war-torn territory, and pursue large-scale economic development. In the meantime, he has called for relocating Gaza’s current civilian population and said they would not be guaranteed the right to one day return to the territory.
It’s not yet clear where the current population of Gaza will relocate under Trump’s proposal to rebuild Gaza. Trump has proposed Egypt or Jordan could take on the majority of these relocated Palestinians, but both countries have pushed back on the idea.
In remarks at the White House on Feb. 10, Trump said he could withhold aid for Egypt or Jordan if they refused to take in the Gazans.
In 2023, Jordan received nearly $1.7 billion in aid from the United States, with 75 percent allocated to economic aid and the remaining to military support. Jordan was the third-largest U.S. aid recipient, following Ukraine and Israel.
The fourth-largest recipient of U.S. aid was Egypt, receiving over $1.5 billion in taxpayer funds, with 81 percent allocated to military assistance.
Sitting alongside Trump at the White House media availability on Tuesday, Abdullah didn’t commit to Trump’s broader relocation proposal but said his country would take in some at-risk children from Gaza.
“We’re going to have some interesting discussions today. I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children that are either cancer children or in a very ill state,” Abdullah told reporters.
By Emel Akan and Ryan Morgan
