US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. He has described Gaza as a 'demolition site'. Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. He has described Gaza as a 'demolition site'. Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. He has described Gaza as a 'demolition site'. Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. He has described Gaza as a 'demolition site'. Bloomberg

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US

Trump says Egypt and Jordan will agree to take displaced Palestinians from Gaza

Two Arab nations have so far categorically rejected taking those displaced by Israel’s war on enclave

Jihan Abdalla
Jihan Abdalla
Washington

January 31, 2025

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Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

US President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted that Egypt and Jordan would take Palestinians from Gaza – a plan Arab leaders have so far flatly rejected.

“They will do it. They are going to do it, OK?” Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House. “We do a lot for them and they are going to do it."

Mr Trump last week suggested that Egypt and Jordan should take in displaced Palestinians from Gaza so that “we clean out that whole thing”.

The latest comments came as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, enacted about two weeks ago, appears to be holding. The deal, brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 month of war that turned Gaza into what Mr Trump has called "a demolition site".

Relentless bombing by the Israeli military, in response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people, has turned much of the coastal enclave into rubble. About 47,400 Palestinians have been killed, health authorities in the enclave have said.

The suggestion that Egypt and Jordan take Palestinians has struck a nerve in the region. More than two million Palestinians live in Gaza, with the majority displaced and left with little access to housing, food and medical care.

But for Palestinians, plans to move them out of Gaza are reminiscent of the Nakba of 1948, when Palestinians were expelled en mass by Israeli forces.

Jordanian and Egyptians leaders have also categorically rejected the suggestion from Mr Trump. In a statement, Jordan's royal palace said the country has a "firm position on the need to keep the Palestinians on their land and to guarantee their legitimate rights, in accordance with the Israeli and Palestinian two-state solution". Jordan hosts about 2.3 million Palestinian refugees, according to the UN.

On Wednesday, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said Mr Trump's suggestion amounted to “an act of oppression”.

Mr Trump, who took office on January 20, does wield considerable influence over Jordan and Egypt, two important Washington allies that are also recipients US aid.

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His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

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“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

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10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

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Updated: January 31, 2025, 4:40 AM
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