The Wall Street Journal quoted officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump as saying that rebuilding Gaza would be much easier if its residents left, and they spoke about the possibility of the Palestinians obtaining guarantees of return. The newspaper said that these statements appear to be an attempt to make the idea more politically acceptable to Arab countries.

Trump spoke to reporters about a plan to "cleanse" Gaza, which he described as a "destructive place." "I would like Egypt to take people. I would like Jordan to take people," he said, noting that he had discussed the issue with Jordan's King Abdullah II and was also scheduled to discuss it with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Trump indicated that the transfer of Gaza residents could be "temporary or long-term," adding, "It's a place that is literally destroyed right now, everything is destroyed and people are dying there... So, I would rather reach out to a number of Arab countries and build housing in a different place where they might be able to live in peace."

The Wall Street Journal said that Trump administration officials have not yet clarified the precise details of the proposal, including how the more than two million Palestinians in the Strip would be transferred and whether they might eventually achieve their aspirations to rule their entire territory.

Officials said they saw Gaza as a wasteland filled with rubble and unexploded ordnance, and that rebuilding it would be much easier with its population gone.

“You can’t ask people to stay in an uninhabitable place for political reasons,” a senior Trump administration official said, suggesting that Palestinians could be guaranteed that they would eventually be able to return after negotiations with regional partners.

Support and reject

Gordon Sondland, who was Trump's ambassador to the European Union during his first term, called the proposal a "great idea" as long as there were "strong guarantees" to ensure Palestinians returned to their homes in Gaza.

In contrast, some of Trump's most loyal political allies have called the plan unrealistic. "The idea that all the Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I don't see that as practical," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said.

The Wall Street Journal said that Egypt and Jordan had previously rejected any talk about receiving Palestinians, for reasons related to national security and the economic burden that might result from that, in addition to fear of being accused of supporting Israel’s annexation of Gaza if it prevented the Palestinians from returning.

The newspaper quoted former officials as saying that the decision of the extreme right in Israel to support Trump's proposal made it more difficult to obtain Arab support for the initiative.

"Egypt and Jordan accepting a large number of Palestinians from Gaza is an unlikely idea," a former senior US official added. "These were red lines for both countries before the Gaza crisis and are now even more severe red lines."

Egypt and Jordan expressed their rejection of Trump's proposal, and the Palestinian presidency expressed its rejection of projects to displace Palestinians in Gaza, considering it a "crossing of red lines." The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) called on the American administration to "stop such proposals, which are in line with Israel's plans and clash with the rights and free will of our people."