US President Donald Trump’s continued discussions about Gaza have already resulted in getting some movement in Jordan and Egypt.
For the past several weeks, he has been talking about the US taking control of Gaza and getting others to rebuild it.
Trump’s plan continues to grow every time he meets with the press. While hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah, he said America would take and hold Gaza, and “cherish” it.
Abdullah has said his country could take in 2,000 children from Gaza. He even specified how he might be able to get them to Jordan by helicopter.
Meanwhile, Egypt is also making moves in the direction of meeting some of Trump’s demands. Cairo says it will play a role in reconstruction.
Trump’s continued discussion of a Gaza plan is also raising eyebrows in other places. Iran is well aware of what this might mean, and its media outlets have highlighted claims that the US could cut aid to Egypt and Jordan if Cairo and Amman don’t begin to toe the line.
Lebanon’s new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, on Wednesday said: “Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians is reprehensible and unacceptable, and we support the two-state solution.”
The Trump plan may be affecting the ceasefire deal, Beirut-based Al-Akhbar news site reported. Trump has demanded that the hostages be returned by this coming Saturday.
Hamas's may be recalculating its plans
Hamas has tried to postpone the deal, but Israel is threatening to renew its war in Gaza. Hamas knows Israel has the full support of the Trump administration, and it might be recalculating.
What this means is that across the Middle East, countries are responding to Trump’s statements. Jordan and Egypt are both showing some flexibility to move in the direction that Washington wants.
This illustrates the importance of how the White House has sought to move the needle on issues in the region. For too long, Egypt and Jordan seemed to try to foist the Hamas and Gaza problem onto others. For instance, neither country warned Israel about the October 7 massacre, even though both of them should have picked up some hints of the Hamas plans.
Neither country has done much to condemn Hamas for plunging the region into war. Jordan has provided aid to Gaza, but in general, these countries have not wanted to step up.
Now, Trump seems to have stirred them to act. This is part of the Trump doctrine of “beating the grass,” which results in stirring up countries to actually do things, rather than sitting back and watching.
This is important because the region has been sleepwalking and slumbering from crisis to crisis for years. The October 7 massacre was only one example of how the region was not able to prevent a major war.
The Biden administration pushed for “regional integration” as its motto for building on the Abraham Accords. But how can you “integrate” a region if you let Hamas carry out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust?
Is Trump rectifying serious damage done in the Middle East?
In truth, many countries did not step up after the October 7 massacre to do something in response. Israel deserved much more regional solidarity. Instead, its peace partners gave it the cold shoulder.
Enemies gathered and sought to back Hamas, such as the Iranian proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. This has caused serious damage.
Trump is trying a new tack. It’s possible that Jordan and Egypt won’t be able to deliver on the ideas that Trump has discussed, such as resettling nearly two million Gazans.
What is important, however, is not that the plan results in getting everything. In a deal-making process, you lay out your demands and then try to get something in the middle. Your opening position isn’t necessarily where you want to end up.
Trump opened with a big demand about moving some 1.7 million Gazans and having the US take a role in Gaza, while other pay to rebuild it. If some of that can be achieved, it will be a success.