Updated Feb. 2, 2025 at 7:40 p.m.*
-Analysis-
AMMAN — King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi are working to form a coalition inside and outside the region to thwart U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal calling for moving 1.5 million Palestinians from war-torn Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.
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The Egyptian and Jordanian accelerating efforts aim to ward off the risk of veritable political suicide in the two countries, and the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, if Washington resorts to imposing the proposal through threats and intimidation.
On Saturday, a joint statement signed by Cairo and Amman, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League, rejected any scheme to move Palestinians out of Gaza and the occupied West Bank. This came a day after Egyptian protesters rallied against Trump’s proposal at the Rafah border crossing.
Trump told reporters last week that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from war-torn Gaza. He said he would urge the leaders of both countries to accept the idea, adding that the resettlement could be either temporary or long term.
Both Jordan and Egypt are key allies to the U.S. in the Middle East and major recipients of American aid in the region. They have long rejected the idea of receiving Palestinians, which they say would undermine the prospects of Palestinian statehood and foment instability in their states. The Palestinian themselves have also outright rejected the idea.
Trump’s comments mean that the project of the extreme right in Israel has now become the project of the Trump administration. It’s a nightmare for both countries, because the project not only targets the rights of the Palestinian people in their homeland, but also jeopardizes the national security and stability of Jordan and Egypt.
Regional nightmare
Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and the Arab League rejected Trump’s proposal, which fulfills Israel’s desire to annex the occupied West Bank and Gaza, expand its borders, and liquidate the Palestinian cause at the expense of Amman and Cairo. Both Egypt and Jordan are Washington’s strategic allies, and they have peace treaties with Israel, which were brokered by the U.S.
“The solution to this issue is the two-state solution. It is the establishment of a Palestinian state,” the Egyptian leader said in a news conference Wednesday in Cairo. “The solution is not to remove the Palestinian people from their place. No.”
Diplomats and officials say that Jordanian King Abdullah visited Brussels last Tuesday to rally support from the European Union, whose countries support the Arab position that calls for settling the conflict through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the territories that Israel occupied in the 1967 war, in exchange for normalization between Tel Aviv and the rest of the Arab capitals.
While King Abdullah was in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his rejection of Trump’s proposal, and renewed his country’s support for the two-state solution in accordance with UN resolutions.
King Abdullah is scheduled to visit Washington soon to meet with Trump to discuss the prospects for peace.Trump’s preemptive announcement coincided with the threat of cutting off U.S. aid to Jordan, which suffers from a prolonged economic crisis.
Diplomats described Trump’s comments as “reckless and ill-considered.”
The Saudi card
Diplomats and officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic, said that Egyptian, Jordanian, Qatari, Saudi and Palestinian officials from Ramallah will meet in Cairo right away to discuss how to defuse Trump’s bombshell.
To thwart the second part of the “Deal of the Century” in Trump’s second term, the “Arab-International Front” coalition seeks to convince the Republican administration of an improved plan to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, leading to a two-state solution.
Normalization between Riyadh and Tel Aviv is the last remaining major pressure card
Saudi Arabia, according to officials, will be the cornerstone in the Arab efforts given that the United States wants to achieve a normalization agreement between Riyadh and Tel Aviv, along with Saudi Arabia’s pledge to invest 0 billion in the U.S. economy over the next four years.
Jordan views normalization between Riyadh and Tel Aviv as the last remaining major pressure card in the hands of the Arab world, to push Israel towards accepting necessary concessions.
To date, Riyadh has been saying what Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinians want to hear, not what America and Israel want: the establishment of a Palestinian state remains the cornerstone of the Saudi position in exchange for normalization.
Rationalizing Trump
Former Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher, who served as ambassador to Washington and Tel Aviv, said in an interview with Daraj that all eyes are on Riyadh.
“The Saudi voice will be the decisive and most influential Arab voice on Trump and his administration,” said Muasher, who called for “deepening cooperation” between Amman and Riyadh to rationalize Trump’s plans.
“It is necessary to coordinate with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and all parties that have an interest in resolving the Palestinian cause,” he said.
Muasher noted that Trump’s proposal “was not welcomed or accepted” by some key decision-makers and legislators in America. Even Senator Lindsey Graham, who is close to Trump, stated last week publicly that the prospect to clear out Gaza is not practical.
“Saudi Arabia will not be able to sign a peace agreement with Israel if the latter annexes the Gaza Strip,” Muasher concluded. “That will not work.”
D.C. military circles
Another former leading Jordanian official official said Amman has to communicate with Riyadh to “understand where it stands” and agree on an approach that protects the national security of Egypt, Jordan, and the entire region.
“It is true that Jordan doesn’t have as much weight as Trump, but Amman has important cards,” he said, pointing to Jordan’s role in the region’s security and stability as a strategic U.S. ally.
Diplomats also spoke about King Abdullah II’s significant stature in Western capitals – especially Washington – and his ties at the Capitol Hill, and the military circles.
Another politician believes that Trump’s comments could be a clear message to Netanyahu that’s related to completing Gaza’s ceasefire in return for Israel’s freehand in the West Bank.
*Originally published Jan. 31, 2025, this article was updated Feb. 2, 2025 with news of joint statement of Arab authorities, as well as enriched media.
