Trump meets Egyptian, Jordanian rejections of ethnic cleansing plan with threats to withhold of aid: US President Donald Trump told reporters the United States may withhold aid if Egypt and Jordan refuse to take in refugees forced out of Gaza as part of his plan to push out Palestinians from their homeland. With almost all of US humanitarian aid now withheld due to Trump's decision to essentially dissolve USAID and put a 90-day pause to foreign aid, his comments seemingly refer to the roughly USD 1.3 bn a year that the country has received since the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.

Arab nations reject the displacement of Gazans- Abdelatty tells Rubio: Palestinians have the support of Arab states in their rejection of displacement plans, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This came during Abdelatty’s time in Washington which also saw him meet with a handful of American higherups.

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

Stressing the need for rebuilding Gaza: Abdelatty “emphasized the urgency of initiating early recovery, debris removal, and reconstruction with the presence of Palestinians in Gaza in light of their attachment to their land and their absolute rejection of displacement, with full support from the Arab and Islamic worlds as well as the international community.”

The Foreign Ministry has been pretty outspoken about its rejection of displacement plans, especially with US President Donald Trump recently saying he wants the US to take over Gaza and “own it” and pushing for Egypt and Jordan to take in those currently residing in Gaza.

Other issues of regional interest on the agenda: The two sides also discussed the development in Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, and the Horn of Africa.

Efforts to boost ties: Abdelatty and Rubio touched on efforts to enhance economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two nations.

And more talks of enhancing ties: Abdelatty and a number US officials — including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Eric Trager Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the US National Security Council — held discussions centered around strategic ties between the two countries and the situation in Gaza.

Gaza also took center stage during Abdelatty’s meeting with US Senator Chris Van Hollen, during which he reiterated the Arab position regarding the displacement of Palestinians and the need to establish an independent Palestinian state and rebuild Gaza. The meeting also saw the two sides touch on ways to enhance the strategic partnership between Egypt and the US.

ALSO- Exchanging points of view: Abdelatty met with researchers from the American thinktank Hudson Institute yesterday — he expressed Egypt’s stance regarding Gaza, Sudan, and Syria and heard the researchers’ insight on the issues.

AND- Another strongly-worded statement from the Foreign Ministry. The ministry issued a statement reaffirming Egypt’s support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and statehood. It called on the international community to adopt a fair approach that upholds Palestinian rights and ends Israeli aggression in Gaza. Egypt reiterated its commitment to working with global partners toward a just resolution and its stance on the forced displacement of the people of Gaza.

Tags: