President Trump on Saturday said he wants Jordan and Egypt to accept Palestinian refugees “temporarily or long term” and suggested his plan for Gaza would be to “clean out the whole thing.” 

Trump’s comments to reporters aboard Air Force One came after he spoke on the phone with Jordan’s King Abdullah who “stressed the pivotal role of the U.S. in pushing all sides to work towards achieving peace, security, and stability for all in the region,” according to a statement from the Jordanian royal court.

Trump, for his part, said he and Abdullah discussed the millions of Palestinians who currently live in Jordan and the idea that more displaced Palestinians will head to the country. 

“I said to him, ‘I’d love you take on more,’ because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess,” Trump said, adding that he planned to speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to ask him to accept Palestinians from Gaza.

“You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump said.

“It’s literally a demolition site,” the president added. “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.”

However, Sisi pushed back against the idea of Egypt taking in Palestinians from Gaza at the start of the Israel-Hamas war, saying that would jeopardize the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

Trump’s comments come one week after a ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Hamas, ending months of fighting that has effectively destroyed much of Gaza. Part of the three-part ceasefire plan includes recovery for Gaza.