Seoul Gazette - Jordan king faces quagmire over Trump's Gaza proposal

Trump's proposed plan to take over Gaza and "clean out" the territory of its Palestinian residents, sending them to Jordan or Egypt, had already sent the region into a tailspin.

But in Tuesday's meeting in Washington, the tension between Trump's vision and the reality that King Abdullah -- whose wife is of Palestinian descent -- has long negotiated was palpable in the exchange between the two leaders.

"The king may be in the most complicated situation of his reign" of more than 25 years, said analyst Labib Kamhawi.

He nonetheless "sought to deal with Trump calmly and not to enter into a direct confrontation with a country that is meant to be an ally", Kamhawi added.

Instead, the king "confirmed the unified Arab stance rejecting the displacement (of Palestinians) and said he would work for the benefit of Jordan and its people", Kamhawi said.

During the meeting, Trump doubled down on his plan, saying Gaza would be placed under "US authority".

In response, King Abdullah released a statement after the meeting in which he "reiterated Jordan's steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank".

- 'Difficult situation' -

"The king was diplomatic and skilled in dealing with Trump's bullishness... without providing any concessions," said Hassan Barari, a professor of international relations at Qatar University.

The British-educated Jordanian monarch appeared to offer a sweetener to Trump, who the day before the visit floated the possibility of halting crucial US aid to both Jordan and Egypt if they did not take in refugees.

"One of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state. That is possible," the king said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.

The image of the king on Tuesday was a far cry from his last visit to Washington a year ago when, alongside Queen Rania and Prince Hussein, he was received warmly by former president Joe Biden.

King Abdullah "is in a difficult situation, without a doubt", said Barari, adding that "it is difficult to clash with your first strategic ally in the world and to say no".

But Barari noted that the king had faced little consequence when he expressed his objection to Trump's so-called "Deal of the Century" -- a proposal to solve the Middle East conflict presented during his first term in office and subsequently shelved.

That plan would have effectively paved the way for Israel's annexation of the West Bank, which it already occupies.

- 'Unified Arab position' -

Jordanian newspapers on Wednesday sought to highlight King Abdullah's rejection of Trump's latest proposal, with one headline reading "The king to Trump: no to displacement".

In parallel with public statements, both Amman and Cairo have sought to rally Arab support in a bid to show a unified front to counteract pressure from the Trump administration.

"Jordan is a small country that cannot withstand this storm alone, nor can the king," said Kamhawi.

The analyst added that "for this reason, his words were clear in Washington," where the king relied on his Arab allies, namely Egypt and Saudi Arabia, both of which have strongly rejected any displacement of Palestinians outside of their land.

In his statement rejecting Trump's plan on Tuesday, King Abdullah noted: "This is the unified Arab position."

And on Wednesday, Jordan's royal court issued a statement saying that the king and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed their "shared position" rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians.

About half of Jordan's population of 11 million people is of Palestinian origin, the majority of whom were displaced during the 1948 war that coincided with the creation of Israel and the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

At a market in central Amman, vendor Khaled al-Qaisi said of Trump: "This man is saying nonsense... Jordan is our country and we have received enough refugees."

"Trump wants to create an alternative homeland for the Palestinians here... neither the Jordanian people nor the Palestinians can accept that," said the man in his 80s.

J.Lim--SG