Washington DC - President Donald Trump's idea of displacing Palestinian survivors from their destroyed homeland in the Gaza Strip to other Arab countries was met with sharp condemnation from much of the region Sunday.

Trump had told journalists that Egypt and Jordan should take in the Gazans in a solution that "could be temporary" or "could be long-term."

The proposal raised concerns that Gaza's remaining population of around two million people – which has already suffered months of genocidal assaults by Israel – could be ethnically cleansed. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned that any such effort would represent "a blatant violation of the red lines."

"Our people will remain steadfast and will not leave their homeland," read a statement from the president's office in Ramallah in the West Bank.

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Hamas likewise rejected the plans, and said Trump should stop making proposals that contradict the rights of the Palestinian people.

Egypt and Jordan joined in the condemnation of Trump's suggestion. Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi stated that his country was strictly opposed to the forced resettlement of Palestinians. "Our rejection of displacement is firm and will not change," he said.

Egypt also reiterated that it is against violating the rights of Palestinians by displacing or encouraging the displacement of Palestinians from their land, whether temporarily or in the long term.

"Egypt continues to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and how they hold on to their legitimate rights in their homeland," a Foreign Ministry statement said, rejecting any settlement and annexation of Palestinian land and the displacement and uprooting of its people.

Far-right politicians in Israel, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, were among the few to welcome Trump's proposal.

Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said the Gaza Strip was "literally a demolition site."

"Almost everything is demolished and people are dying there, so I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change," he said.

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"You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. You know over the centuries it's had many, many conflicts. And I don’t know, something has to happen," Trump said.

Israel has killed at least 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023, with the true death toll believed to be much higher. It has also obliterated every aspect of society in the besieged territory.