Tuesday 11 / February / 2025
Washington DC: Donald Trump has threatened to pause aid to US allies Jordan and Egypt if they don't take Palestinian refugees being relocated from Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, the US president said he could "conceivably" withhold aid from the two Arab states if they don't accept resettled Palestinians from Gaza.
His comments come after Cairo earlier on Monday rejected "any compromise" that would infringe on Palestinians' rights. The Foreign Ministry statement was released after Egypt's top diplomat met with his US counterpart in Washington. Egypt is among the top recipients of US foreign aid.
Trump's threats also come as Jordan's King Abdullah II is scheduled to visit Washington on Tuesday.
The king has long made clear that the forced relocation of the estimated 2 million Palestinians in Gaza was "a red line" not to be crossed under any circumstances.
The visit by King Abdullah II will be the first official trip by an Arab leader to the United States since Trump was inaugurated for a second term.
Trump's 90-day USAID funding freeze has already hit Jordan hard. The country is one of the top recipients of humanitarian assistance from the US aid agency.
The US is also the biggest provider of foreign aid to Jordan, which is struggling with a weak economy and high unemployment.
Hamas says it will postpone next hostage release indefinitely
Palestinian militant group Hamas announced that it was postponing until further notice the next release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, claiming that Israel had failed to abide by the terms of their ceasefire agreement.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, claimed that since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, Israel has delayed the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, targeted Gazans with military shelling and gunfire, and prevented aid from entering the territory.
He added that Hamas would not release any more hostages until Israel "complies and compensates for the past weeks."
More hostages were due to be released Saturday in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners, but the Hamas spokesman said no more hostages would be released until further notice.
There have been five hostage-prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas in the first phase of the current cease-fire. Three hostages were released last Saturday.
