By Jeff Mason, Trevor Hunnicutt and Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump met Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday for what was likely to be a tense encounter following the U.S. president’s Gaza redevelopment idea and threat to cut aid to the U.S.-allied Arab country if it refuses to resettle Palestinians.
Trump’s proposal, floated one week ago, for the U.S. to take over Gaza, move its shell-shocked residents and transform the war-ravaged territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” drew a negative response from the Arab world.
The concept has introduced new complexity into a sensitive regional dynamic, including a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Hamas on Monday said it would stop releasing Israeli hostages from Gaza until further notice, saying Israel was violating the agreement to end strikes that have pummeled Gaza. Trump later proposed canceling the ceasefire if Hamas doesn’t release all remaining hostages it took on October 7, 2023, by the weekend.
King Abdullah has said he rejects any moves to annex land and displace Palestinians. On Tuesday, he is expected to tell Trump such a move could spur radicalism, spread chaos in the region, jeopardize peace with Israel and threaten the country’s very survival.
Trump greeted King Abdullah and they stood together briefly before entering the White House for their meeting.
The two leaders were not scheduled to give public remarks together during the visit, reflecting the sensitivity of the talks. It is the first time since taking office again three weeks ago that Trump will greet a foreign leader without allowing press photographs in the Oval Office and a press conference.
For his part, Trump has modified aspects of his initial proposal and doubled down on others. He has expressed increasing impatience with Arab leaders who see the idea as unworkable.
“I do think he’ll take” refugees, Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday of King Abdullah.
Asked if he would withhold aid from Jordan and Egypt if they declined to do so, Trump said: “Yeah, maybe, sure, why not? … if they don’t agree I would conceivably withhold aid.”
Sandwiched between Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel and the occupied West Bank, Jordan is already home to more than 2 million Palestinian refugees in its population of 11 million, their status and number long providing a source of anxiety for the country’s leadership.
Amman, which depends heavily on Washington for military and economic assistance, is also reeling from Trump’s 90-day aid pause. Israel and Egypt have been granted waivers, but the $1.45 billion Jordan gets each year remains frozen pending a Trump administration review of all foreign aid.
King Abdullah “is in a very, very vulnerable position where the U.S. has a lot of leverage,” said Ghaith Al-Omari, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank.
But U.S. assistance to Amman “is not charity,” Al-Omari said, explaining that Jordan hosts U.S. troops and air assets, is an important intelligence-sharing partner for Washington, and its peace treaty with Israel, signed in 1994, is key to regional stability.
“The king would be hoping that these would be a counter to the leverage that the president has,” Al-Omari said.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Simon LewisEditing by Colleen Jenkins, Lincoln Feast and Alistair Bell)
