Washington - Saba:
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to cancel the ceasefire agreement in Gaza between Hamas and the Zionist entity if all Israeli prisoners held by Hamas are not released by noon next Saturday, saying that he would let "the gates of hell open wide."
In press statements at the White House, Trump suggested that Israel should "cancel" the ceasefire agreement in effect in the Gaza Strip since January 19 if Hamas does not release all hostages by noon next Saturday.
He said that he would leave "this matter to Israel to decide" about what should happen to the truce in effect between it and Hamas.
"But as far as I am concerned, if all hostages are not returned by 12 noon on Saturday - I think that is a reasonable date - then I call for (the truce) to be canceled and for the gates of hell to open," he added.
Trump stressed that Hamas must release “all” of the Israeli hostages it is still holding in the Strip at once, "not in batches, not two and one and three and four and two."
"We want them all back. I’m talking about what concerns me, and Israel can ignore it, but for me, Saturday at 12 noon, if they’re not here, hell will open."
Trump stated that he might speak to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about this deadline, which he set for noon next Saturday.
The Republican president did not clarify what exactly he meant by this threat, saying only that "Hamas will find out what I mean."
Asked if he ruled out direct intervention by US forces against the Palestinian movement, Trump replied, "We’ll see what happens."
On the other hand, Trump announced that the United States “might” stop aid to Egypt and Jordan if they do not agree to receive Palestinian refugees who will be deported from Gaza.
"We have spoken to many Palestinians. They want to leave Gaza if they can find another place to live," he told reporters.
He added that the Palestinians in the besieged enclave "have been persecuted and they want to leave Gaza, but so far they have not been provided with any other alternative."
Trump's proposal calls for the displacement of all residents of the enclave so that the United States can control it and develop it in real estate, a proposal that Egypt has rejected, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aati stressing during his meeting with his American counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington that Cairo is committed to rejecting "harming" the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, to remain on the land and to be independent.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement stressing the need for the international community to adopt an approach that guarantees the rights of all peoples of the region "without discrimination," stressing that the Palestinian people are suffering from "unprecedented injustice" to their basic rights, including their right to live in peace on their land.
Trump is expected to receive Jordanian King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, who has repeatedly stressed the kingdom's rejection of the displacement of Palestinians and its commitment to the two-state solution.
Trump had earlier confirmed to Fox News on Monday that under his proposal, Palestinians would not be allowed to return to the Strip.
"I'm talking about building a permanent place for them," he said, noting that living in the devastated Strip would not be possible for many years. But for the Palestinians, any attempt to get them out of Gaza brings back memories of the Palestinian "Nakba" that followed the declaration of the establishment of Israel in 1948.
| more of (International) |