Egypt and Jordan welcome Trump U-turn on expelling Gaza's Palestinians
Egypt and Jordan have welcomed comments by US President Donald Trump that no one would expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
It's not yet clear if the remarks represent a change in Trump's proposal for the US to "take control" and "own" Gaza, which he announced in February.
At the time, he said that Gaza would be transformed into the "Riviera of the Middle East", and its Palestinian inhabitants would be ejected to Jordan and Egypt - a proposal the two countries flatly rejected.
"Nobody will expel the Palestinians," Trump said on Wednesday at the White House, in response to a reporter who asked if "expelling the Palestinians from Gaza" had been discussed during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin.
Egypt's foreign ministry expressed "its appreciation for the statements of the American president... regarding the non-expulsion of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip".
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Jordan's foreign ministry said it "welcomed the remarks made by the American president on Wednesday," and stressed "the importance of achieving a just and lasting peace... in accordance with the two-state solution".
Trump's apparent reversal was "well received" in Gaza too, according to Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem.
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said: "We appreciate the US president's statements confirming that the residents of the Gaza Strip are not required to leave their homeland."
Arab states proposed an alternative to Trump's plan to forcibly expel Palestinians last week.
The proposal, led by Egypt, sets out a $53bn budget and a five-year timescale for the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave, devastated by 15 months of Israeli war. It also outlines a vision for post-war governance in Gaza.
It was adopted on Saturday by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and is supported by a number of European countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
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