After meeting with Trump, Jordan's king says his country opposes displacing Palestinians in Gaza

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday and renewed his insistence that Gaza could somehow be emptied of all residents, controlled by the U.S. and redeveloped as a tourist area.

It's an audacious, but highly unlikely, scheme to dramatically remake the Middle East and would require Jordan and other Arab nations to accept more Gazans — something Abdullah reiterated after their meeting that he opposes.

The pair met in the Oval Office with Secretary of State Marco Rubio also on hand. The president suggested he wouldn't withhold U.S. aid to Jordan or Egypt if they don't agree to dramatically increase the number of people from Gaza they take in.

“I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that," Trump said. That contradicted the Republican president's previous suggestion that holding back aid from Washington was a possibility.

Abdullah was asked repeatedly about Trump's plan to clear out Gaza and overhaul it as a resort on the Mediterranean Sea. He didn't make substantive comments on it and didn't commit to the idea that his country could accept large numbers of Gazans.

He did say, however, that Jordan would be willing “right away” to take as many as 2,000 children in Gaza who are suffering from cancer or otherwise ill.

“I finally see somebody that can take us across the finish line to bring stability, peace and prosperity to all of us in the region,” the king said of Trump in his statement at the top of the meeting.

Abdullah left the White House after about two hours and headed to Capitol Hill to meet with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. He posted on X that during his meeting with Trump, “I 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,” Abdullah wrote.

That was despite Trump using his appearance with Abdullah to repeat suggestions that the U.S. could come to control Gaza. Trump also said Tuesday that it wouldn't require committing American funds but that the U.S. overseeing the war-torn region would be possible, “Under the U.S. authority,” without elaborating what that actually was.

“We’re not going to buy anything. We’re going to have it," Trump said of U.S. control in Gaza. He suggested that the redeveloped area could have new hotels, office buildings and houses, "and we’ll make it exciting.”

“I can tell you about real estate. They’re going to be in love with it,” Trump, who built a New York real estate empire that catapulted him to fame, said of Gaza's residents, while also insisting that he personally would not be involved in development.

Trump has previously suggested that Gaza’s residents could be displaced temporarily or permanently, an idea that leaders around the Arab world have sharply rebuked.

Additionally, Trump renewed his suggestions that a tenuous ceasefire between Hamas and Israel could be canceled if Hamas doesn't release all of the remaining hostages it is holding by midday on Saturday. Trump first made that suggestion on Monday, though he insisted then that the ultimate decision lies with Israel.

“I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline, personally," Trump said Tuesday of Hamas. "They want to play tough guy. We’ll see how tough they are.”

The king's visit came at a perilous moment for the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas is accusing Israel of violating the truce and says it will delay future releases of hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

In a statement, Hamas called Trump's Tuesday comments “racist” and “a call for ethnic cleansing.” It also accused the president of seeking to “liquidate the Palestinian cause and deny the national rights of the Palestinian people.”

Trump has repeatedly proposed the U.S. take control of Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” with Palestinians in the war-torn territory pushed into neighboring nations with no right of return.

Trump's Tuesday comments contradicted his Monday suggestions that, if necessary, he would withhold U.S. funding from Jordan and Egypt — longtime U.S. allies and among the top recipients of its foreign aid — as a means of persuading them to accept additional Palestinians from Gaza.

Jordan is home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said last week that his country’s opposition to Trump’s idea about displacing Gaza's residents was “firm and unwavering.”

Besides concerns about jeopardizing the long-held goals of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have privately raised security concerns about welcoming large numbers of additional refugees into their countries even temporarily.

Trump announced his ideas for resettling Palestinians from Gaza and taking ownership of the territory for the U.S. during a press conference last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The president initially didn’t rule out deploying U.S. troops to help secure Gaza but at the same time insisted no U.S. funds would go to pay for the reconstruction of the territory, raising fundamental questions about the nature of his plan.

After Trump’s initial comments, Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Trump only wanted Palestinians relocated from Gaza “temporarily” and sought an “interim” period to allow for debris removal, the disposal of unexploded ordnance and reconstruction.

But asked in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier that aired Monday if Palestinians in Gaza would have a right to return to the territory under his plan, he replied, “No, they wouldn’t.”

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

Jordan's King Abdullah II listens during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

Jordan's King Abdullah II arrives at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II, right, and Crown Prince Hussein at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II, right, and Crown Prince Hussein at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II, right, and Crown Prince Hussein at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II, right, and Crown Prince Hussein at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - President Donald Trump stands with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, June 25, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

ISTANBUL (AP) — Hundreds of supporters gathered in front of an Istanbul courthouse on Saturday, where detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu faced further questioning over allegations of corruption and terror links. His arrest this week intensified political tensions and sparked widespread protests across Turkey, with demonstrators rallying in multiple cities to voice their opposition.

Police questioned Imamoglu for around five hours on Saturday as part of an investigation into allegations of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, the Cumhuriyet newspaper reported. A day earlier he was questioned for four hours over the corruption accusations. The mayor rejected all charges during both interrogations.

He was later transferred to a courthouse for questioning by prosecutors along with some 90 other people who were also detained with him.

The authorities barred access to the courthouse using barricades on local roads and closing nearby metro stations. Hundreds of police officers and over a dozen water cannon trucks were deployed. Still, hundreds gathered in front of the building shouting: “Rights, law, justice!”

Crowds also began to rally outside the city hall for a fourth night in a show of support to the mayor.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on social media that 343 suspects had been detained in protests in major cities on Friday night, adding “There will be no tolerance for those who seek to violate societal order, threaten the people’s peace and security, and pursue chaos and provocation.” The cities listed included Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya, Canakkale, Eskisehir, Konya and Edirne.

Imamoglu, who is a popular opposition figure and seen as a top challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday following a dawn raid on his residence over allegations of financial crimes and links to Kurdish militants. Dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.

Many view the arrest as a politically driven attempt to remove a popular opposition figure and key challenger to Erdogan in the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028. Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently.

His arrest has ignited protests that have steadily increased in intensity.

On Friday, police in Istanbul used pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets to push back hundreds of protesters who tried to break through a barricade in front of the city’s historic aqueduct while hurling flares, stones and other objects at officers. Police also dispersed groups that had rallied outside of the city hall for a third night running, after the opposition Republican People’s Party leader, Ozgur Ozel, delivered a speech in support of the mayor.

Simultaneously, police broke up demonstrations in Ankara, the capital, as well as in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, resorting to forceful measures at times, according to television images. Thousands marched in several other cities calling on the government to resign.

Earlier, Erdogan said the government would not tolerate street protests and accused the opposition party of links to corruption and terror organizations.

The Istanbul governor's office announced it was expanding a ban on demonstrations until March 26 and imposed restrictions on the entry and exit of vehicles deemed to be transporting people “likely to participate in unlawful activities.”

Erdogan on Saturday accused the CHP’s leadership of turning the party “into an apparatus to absolve a handful of municipal robbers who have become blinded by money.”

He also accused it of “doing everything to disturb the public peace, to polarize the nation.”

Imamoglu’s arrest came just days before he was expected to be nominated as the opposition Republican People’s Party’s presidential candidate in a primary on Sunday. Ozel has said that the primary, where around 1.5 million delegates can vote, will go ahead as planned.

The opposition party has also urged citizens to participate in a symbolic election on Sunday — through improvised ballot boxes to be set up across Turkey — to show solidarity with Imamoglu.

In a tweet posted shortly before his arrival at the courthouse, Imamoglu urged the public to safeguard the ballot boxes for Sunday’s primary, “Don’t forget: they are very afraid of you and your democratic right to vote.”

In an earlier message, Imamoglu described his arrest as a “coup" and accused the government of exploiting the judiciary and worsening the country’s troubled economy.

A Protester shouts slogan during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, outside Caglayan courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Protesters shout slogans as they protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, outside Caglayan courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Policemen stand guard next to a police bus carrying Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and other arrested to Caglayan courthouse, as protesters protest against their arrest, outside Caglayan courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Protesters shout slogans as they protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, outside Caglayan courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Protesters shout slogans as they protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Protesters shout slogans during clashes with anti riot police during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Police officers use pepper spray during clashes with people as they protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A policeman uses an anti riot rifle to disperse people during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A man with the Turkish flag on his back stands in front of anti riot police officers during clashes in a rally against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters run during clashes with anti riot police while protesting against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A man holds a metal board during clashes with police during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters shout slogans during clashes with anti riot police during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

People light flares as they protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A man, a Turkish flag draped on his back, stands in front of anti riot police officers during clashes in a rally against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)