The initial announcement made by Trump regarding his demand for the displacement of Gaza’s residents to Jordan and Egypt does not specify details about the potential displaced individuals. There is no clear indication of the numbers he envisions, the categories of people, or whether he intends to target specific areas he deems uninhabitable. Will he impose another mechanism to achieve his goals?
Since his envoy reiterated this request after Jordan and Egypt’s rejection, urging them to propose an alternative solution, the issue appears to be a reversal of the “Deal of the Century” introduced during Trump’s first presidential term. That plan included the establishment of residential, industrial, and agricultural zones in the Negev to accommodate part of Gaza’s densely populated residents. It was based on the assumption that Palestinians would accept economic development in exchange for a final settlement and further territorial concessions in the West Bank.
As Trump signed a series of executive orders, he spoke with frustration and insistence that both Egypt and Jordan must accept the displaced Palestinians because the U.S. had provided them with extensive support. However, his request remains unclear, and there is no concrete information on the arrangements behind his new version of the deal. The latest shifts in U.S. policy under former President Biden have emboldened the Israeli right-wing, allowing them to aggressively impose facts on the ground and intensify their control over Palestinian lands.
Trump’s original assumption was that a coexistence model could be forced upon the heavily burdened Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the besieged resistance factions in Gaza. He believed that billions of dollars and employment opportunities, integrating Palestinian workers into joint projects with Israel, could resolve the issue. However, he and his team fail to comprehend the extent of hostility fueled by Israel’s brutal aggression against Gaza’s civilians—acts that go beyond what Palestinians can overlook in the name of peace initiatives or prolonged ceasefires, such as those proposed by Hamas in the past.
Trump’s original plan was not only unrealistic but has now become entirely impossible. It demands the establishment of a dystopian society where Palestinians live under total control, akin to a grim reality similar to the one portrayed in “Squid Game.” A Palestinian cannot simply reach into their pockets while standing at a checkpoint or sit in their car to retrieve their ID—such actions are deemed suspicious by Israeli soldiers, who could immediately assault or even kill them. Trump’s alternative is either mass displacement or significantly reducing the Palestinian population to restore Israeli-Jewish demographic dominance and pave the way for other “solutions.”
The Possible Solutions: Displacement or Domination
The potential solutions vary between fragmenting the Palestinian territories into a controlled entity that supplies cheap labor for Israeli projects or depopulating these areas to ensure Jewish-Israeli dominance—requiring the displacement of nearly four million Palestinians.
In a single-state scenario, economic and legal engineering would regulate population growth to maintain demographic superiority. The new set of solutions emerging from American political thought suggests that displacement must be vast—akin to the mass return of Palestinian refugees to Gaza after the Oslo Accords. In a slightly more structured manner, families could be transported on buses to distant locations, starting over in exile. Such a scenario would require immense pressure on Palestinians to make continued war and ceasefire discussions irrelevant. This time, however, they would find no intermediaries collecting bribes for passage through Rafah. Instead, they would face direct enforcement, with the expectation that Jordan and Egypt would absorb the new refugees, adding to the millions already expelled from their homes in past decades.
Is Trump Preparing for a New Massacre?
Could Trump, angered by Jordan and Egypt’s rejection, be preparing for a catastrophic massacre? Would he escalate events to provoke the Arab street—already opposed to displacement—into an outcry against this new phase of ethnic cleansing? Alternatively, would he exert political and economic pressure on Jordan, leveraging Egypt’s fragile economic conditions to push them into compliance? Or is he pursuing a dual strategy to dismantle the hostage crisis while advancing his broader objectives?
Jordan, seeking to strengthen ties with European partners, could secure Arab financial backing to alleviate economic pressures. Such measures would allow Jordan to resist U.S. pressure, particularly as it implements internal policies to mitigate the impact of frozen American aid. However, Jordan faces the risk of being portrayed as an obstacle to a U.S.-backed resolution if a “new deal” emerges with grand but hollow promises. Meanwhile, Egypt confronts massive challenges. The exemption from U.S. aid freezes may serve as leverage to pressure Cairo into involvement beyond its current strategic calculations.
In the coming days, following Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, Trump’s rhetoric is expected to shift. He will likely present a comprehensive vision, increasing pressure to enforce it. The Arab states he confronts face immense challenges in navigating this impending catastrophe. Trump, well aware that time is a crucial factor in Jordan and Egypt’s decision-making, may escalate his approach, becoming more aggressive and relentless in pursuing his next moves.
