Hamas Slams Trump's Idea of Relocating Palestinians

US Leader's Plan for Egypt, Jordan to Take in Gazans Will Be Foiled, Says Militant Group

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GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories – Hamas and militant allies Islamic Jihad on Jan. 26 reacted with fury and defiance to a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to "clean out" Gaza, where a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas aimed at permanently ending the war enters its second week.

There was no immediate reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but a far-right minister welcomed Mr. Trump's "great" idea.

Meanwhile, a dispute linked to the latest hostage-prisoner swap under the truce deal led to vast crowds of Palestinians jamming a coastal road after they were blocked from returning to the territory's north.

The swap saw four Israeli women hostages, all soldiers, and 200 Palestinian prisoners released to joyful scenes, in the second such exchange so far.

But after 15 months of war, Mr. Trump called Gaza a "demolition site" and said he had spoken to Jordan's King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out of the territory.

"I'd like Egypt to take people. And I'd like Jordan to take people," Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

He said he expected to talk to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Jan. 26.

Most Gazans are Palestinian refugees or their descendants.

For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark historical memories of what the Arab world calls the "Nakba" or catastrophe – the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation 75 years ago.