(TWW) — US President Donald Trump’s plan to transform Gaza into a luxurious “Riviera-style” development—while permanently relocating its more than 2 million residents—was expected to face a harsh reality check.
Instead, the moment underscored the immense challenges confronting America’s Arab allies.
When Jordan’s King Abdullah II met with Trump at the Oval Office on Tuesday—the first Arab leader to visit since Trump’s reelection—many anticipated he might temper some of the more ambitious aspects of the plan. To summarize, Trump envisions the US assuming control of Gaza, relocating millions of Palestinian refugees to Jordan and Egypt, replacing the war-torn enclave with sleek, glass high-rises, and inviting people from around the world to settle there.
However, during their joint press conference, it quickly became apparent that Trump had no intention of scaling back his proposal.
“I believe we will have a parcel of land in Jordan, a parcel of land in Egypt, we may have some place else, but I think when we finish our talks, we’ll have a place where they’ll live very happily,” Trump said, dismissing questions about what authority the US had to take control of Gaza.
Standing beside him, King Abdullah’s silent but visible discomfort—his eyes twitching as he listened—spoke volumes.
After all, King Abdullah was expected to deliver a firm, diplomatic rejection of a plan that had been met with near-universal opposition across the Arab world.
Instead, despite his evident discomfort, he nodded along and praised Trump as a man of peace—someone who could lead the Middle East “across the finish line.”
When asked directly whether he supported Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians, the king sidestepped the question. Rather than responding directly, he hinted at an alternative approach, stating that “Egypt and the Arab countries” had their own plan that would be revealed in due time. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he advised.
“You could see the discomfort in the king’s body language and his face … they were completely talking past each other,” said Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.
A ‘bad bet’
Until that point, Egypt had said nothing publicly about having a counter-plan. Afterwards it issued its own vague statement, in which it referred to an “intention to present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction of Gaza.”
Meanwhile, Arab social media erupted in criticism of the king, who was widely criticized for appearing to capitulate to Trump.
In what looked like an attempt at damage limitation, the king posted on X that he had “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,” he wrote.
But by then, in many Arab eyes, the damage had already been done.
While Abdullah may have impressed Trump with his offer to take 2,000 of Gaza’s sick children, it’s clear his visit did little to persuade the president away from his desire to take Gaza. If anything, the limpness of the opposition may only have encouraged Trump.
“We’re going to have it (Gaza), 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,” Trump said.
Randa Slim, a fellow at the foreign policy institute at Johns Hopkins University, said the king had made a “bad bet” in traveling to Washington.
“If the visit was aimed at helping sway Trump to abandon his plan, King Abdullah was unsuccessful because Trump doubled down. And it did not put the Jordanian king in the best light with his own population, he did not come across in the public presser as strongly pushing back against a plan which the majority of his population opposes,” she said.
“I don’t think it was a success on a regional and domestic level,” Slim added.
A precarious position
The exchange between Trump and the king reveals the precarious position that America’s Arab allies could find themselves in over the next four years, especially those, like Jordan, who have relatively little in terms of natural resources to offer the self-styled master of the deal.
As Arab countries scramble to make a counteroffer to Trump’s Gaza plan, they are also rushing to salvage the ceasefire agreement, which is currently under threat of collapse after Hamas said it would postpone Saturday’s scheduled hostage release in response to alleged Israeli violations of the deal in recent weeks.
If there is a silver lining to the “madness coming out of Trump’s mouth,” said Elgindy, it’s that it spurred Arab states to think about what their own, more credible alternative would be – even if that action is long overdue.
“It took disastrous statements by Trump and the possible collapse of the ceasefire for them to finally spur into action … that should have happened months ago,” he said.
The plan alluded to by King Abdullah, to be presented by Egypt after being discussed with one of Trump’s closest Arab allies, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, could present a vision where Arab countries help clear the rubble and rebuild Gaza over several years, without Palestinians leaving and in line with the two-state solution.
But the finer details of the Arab plan are yet to be revealed and the danger is that any delay will only serve to encourage Trump further. Egypt has said there will be an Arab emergency summit at the end of the month.
For some Arab leaders, the hope is that Trump will at some point come to his own conclusion that his plan is “not practical” and “unimplementable,” Slim said, and that there will be so many obstacles in implementing it that he will abandon it.
Even then, the onus would be on America’s Arab allies to come up with a solution to a decades-old problem, and the king’s visit to DC has hardly inspired confidence.
“They are caught between a rock and a hard place … they will have to come up with an alternative plan that has to involve dollars for Trump to buy into it, and one that he can spin as a win,” Slim added.
“Come on,” said Elgindy. “Nobody has a plan?”
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