Trump’s Suggestion That Jordan & Egypt Take In Palestinian Refugees Flatly Rejected By Their Leaders

On Monday, amidst a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians were allowed to return to their homes in the northern half of Gaza. However, the extensive destruction caused by the war has left much of the area in ruins, rendering most residents homeless.

President Donald Trump proposed that Jordan and Egypt take in refugees from Gaza, a suggestion both countries firmly rejected. Trump reportedly told Jordan’s King Abdullah II, “I’d love for you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess.”

He told reporters that he wants to “just clean out that whole thing” and involve Arab nations in building housing at alternative locations where Palestinians might “live in peace for a change.” Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, described the country’s rejection of the proposal as “firm and unwavering.” Egypt’s foreign minister Badr Abdelatty warned that accepting Palestinian refugees could risk “expanding the conflict in the region.”

The Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered a 15-month war that caused 90% of the Palestinian population to be displaced. This includes people internally displaced along the Gaza Strip, along with refugees who fled to neighboring countries. Jordan itself is already home to over two million Palestinian refugees, along with others from Syria. Egypt currently houses over 100,000 refugees, and over nine million migrants, including refugees from the civil war in Sudan. Given the large number of migrants in both countries, they are unwilling to take on the over 2.3 million Palestinians as Trump is suggesting. 

Both countries fear the economic and social instability they may face if a large influx of refugees is suddenly introduced.

The two countries are at peace with Israel and support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the currently occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Trump’s suggestion, whether temporary or long-term, risks undermining this goal, as the long-term displacement of Gaza’s population could make a two-state solution unachievable.