With the Saturday Feb. 15 deadline rapidly approaching for the Trump-Netanyahu ultimatum to Hamas that they have to release all the remaining hostages or “all bets are off” and “all hell is going to break out,” as Trump put it, Trump met in the White House on Feb. 11 with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. According to numerous press accounts, Trump used the occasion with King Abdullah at his side, to restate, even more forcefully, his plan for the U.S. to take Gaza and run it, ethnically cleanse it of Palestinians, and in that way bring “peace” to the region.
“We’re going to have it, we’re going to keep it, and we’re going to make sure that there’s going to be peace and there’s not going to be any problem, and nobody’s going to question it, and we’re going to run it very properly. We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it,” Trump said. “And you know, I have a Saturday deadline, and I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline personally.” He added that “all bets are off” if Hamas does not release the hostages by then.
“We’re going to be able to work something, and I know we’ll be able to work something also with, I believe, not, not 100%, but 99% we’re going to work out something with Egypt…. No, I think we’ll do something. I don’t have to threaten with money. I think we’re above that.”
On Monday, Feb. 10, in the Oval Office, Trump wasn’t exactly “above that,” answering a question about the U.S. possibly withholding aid to Jordan and Egypt if they didn’t go along. He said: “Yeah, maybe, sure why not? If they don’t, I would conceivably withhold aid, yes.” The members of the Arab League took the threat seriously enough to start discussing how they might come up with sufficient aid from their ranks to replace the $1.4 billion or so per year that Egypt and Jordan each receive from the U.S., should Trump follow through on his threat.
In a separate interview with Fox News, Trump was asked if the Palestinians would have the right to return under his plan. “No, they wouldn’t. Because they will have much better housing. Much better—in other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.”
King Abdullah II was visibly uncomfortable at the joint press conference with Trump, limiting his remarks to not disagreeing openly with Trump, but saying: “I think we have to keep in mind, there is a plan from Egypt and the Arab countries.… I think the point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody?”
Afterwards, King Abdullah issued a statement calling his meeting with Trump at the White House yesterday “constructive,” and expressed gratitude for the “President’s warm welcome.”
“We discussed Jordan’s longstanding partnership with the United States. It continues to be a partnership for stability, peace, and mutual security,” the King said on X, reported Jordan Times. “I stressed that my foremost commitment is to Jordan, to its stability and to the well-being of Jordanians.”
On the issue of displacement of Palestinians, he said: “I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all.”
“Achieving just peace on the basis of the two-state solution is the way to ensure regional stability. This requires U.S. leadership. President Trump is a man of peace. He was instrumental in securing the Gaza ceasefire. We look to U.S. and all stakeholders in ensuring it holds,” the King said.
