Trump doubles down on Gaza plan after meeting with king of Jordan

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump doubled down on his plans for the U.S. to own Gaza during a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday.

The two met amid escalating pressure on the Arab nation to take in refugees from Gaza — perhaps permanently — as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East.

The visit is happening at a perilous moment for the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza as Hamas, accusing Israel of violating the truce, has said it is pausing future releases of hostages and as Trump has called for Israel to resume fighting if all those remaining in captivity are not freed by this weekend.

What they're saying:

"With the United States being in control of that, piece of land, a fairly large piece of land, you're going to have stability in the Middle East for the first time," Trump told reporters. "The Palestinians or the people that live now in Gaza will be living beautifully in another location. They're going to be living safely. They're not going to be, killed and murdered and having to leave every ten years because I've been watching this for so many years."

RELATED: Ceasefire deal should be canceled if Hamas doesn’t release all Israeli hostages by Saturday, Trump says

 U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. T(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump didn't say how he plans to acquire Gaza, but said the U.S. isn't going to buy it. 

He suggested on Monday that, if necessary, he would withhold U.S. funding from Jordan and Egypt, longtime U.S. allies and among the top recipients of its foreign aid, as a means of persuading them to accept additional Palestinians from Gaza.

"Yeah, maybe. Sure, why not?" Trump told reporters. "If they don’t, I would conceivably withhold aid, yes."

The other side:

Jordan is home to more than 2 million Palestinians and, along with other Arab states, has flatly rejected Trump's plan to relocate civilians from Gaza. Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said last week that his country’s opposition to Trump’s idea was "firm and unwavering."

RELATED: Trump says he wants US to take over Gaza in Netanyahu press conference

In addition to concerns about jeopardizing the long-held goals of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have privately raised security concerns about welcoming large numbers of additional refugees into their countries even temporarily.

When asked how he’d persuade Abdullah to take in Palestinians, Trump told reporters, "I do think he’ll take, and I think other countries will take also. They have good hearts."

After Trump’s initial comments, Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Trump only wanted Palestinians relocated from Gaza "temporarily" and sought an "interim" period to allow for debris removal, the disposal of unexploded ordnance and reconstruction.

The backstory:

The White House’s focus on the future of Gaza comes as the nascent truce between Israel and Hamas hangs in the balance.

RELATED: Hamas releases 3 more hostages, including US citizen, as part of fragile ceasefire deal

Netanyahu is facing competing pressure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary truce against Hamas militants in Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages home and for the 15-month conflict to end.

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Trump has said Israel should cancel the entire ceasefire if all of the roughly 70 hostages aren’t freed by Saturday. Hamas brushed off his threat on Tuesday, doubling down on its claim that Israel has violated the ceasefire and warned that it would only continue releasing hostages if all parties adhered to the ceasefire.

Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and resume its fight against Hamas if the militant group does not go ahead with the next scheduled release of hostages on Saturday.