Jordan’s king rejects Palestinian displacement as he meets US Congress delegation

Jordan's King Abdullah II reaffirmed his country's rejection on Thursday of any attempts to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Speaking during a meeting in Amman with a US congressional delegation headed by Representative Darrell Issa, the monarch warned of the ongoing Israeli military escalation in the occupied West Bank, the royal court said in a statement.

He also "stressed the need to intensify international efforts to achieve just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution," highlighting the "pivotal" US role in advancing these efforts.

The Jordanian king also called for maintaining a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and boosting the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians there.

US President Donald Trump invoked outrage after suggesting taking over the Gaza Strip and relocating Palestinians elsewhere to develop the enclave into what he called "the Riviera of the Middle East."

Trump's plan for Palestinian resettlement has been rejected by the Palestinians, Arab countries, and Washington's Western allies, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

His controversial idea came amid the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took effect Jan. 19, pausing Israel's genocidal war, which has killed at least 48,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.