Why Jordan and Egypt should work actively to thwart Trump's Gaza plan: Opinion

Within 24 hours of US President Donald Trump meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the White House released a recorded video of Trump praising the king after a humiliating exchange in front of the media. 

During their meeting, Trump pushed the king to accept his plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza into Jordan, leaving Abdullah struggling to find an appropriate response.

In the lead-up to the meeting, Trump threatened to cut aid to Jordan and Egyptshould they reject his plan. Egypt has since repeated its refusal and stressed the importance of ending the war and rebuilding Gaza without displacement, while President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reportedly postponed a visit to the White House to avoid discussing Trump’s proposal.

King Abdullah, on the other hand, seemed to signal his openness to the idea by asserting that he would do what’s best for his country - an apparent deviation from the long-standing official Jordanian position of rejecting the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland. 

The king himself, along with his foreign minister and the White House press secretary, all later reiterated Jordan’s official position of rejecting any displacement plans.

Read more: Why Jordan and Egypt should work actively to thwart Trump's Gaza plan. Opinion by Raja Abdulhaq