The king of Jordan poured cold water on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s hopes that neighboring Arab countries could take in Palestinian refugees who are fleeing the Gaza Strip ahead of an anticipated ground offensive by the Israeli army.
The rebuff by King Abdullah II was made Tuesday morning at a press conference with Scholz following a meeting in the chancellery in Berlin, which Scholz also used to issue a warning to Iran and to Hezbollah against intervening in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“I think I can speak here on behalf of Jordan … but also our friends in Egypt: This is a red line … no refugees to Jordan and also no refugees to Egypt,” King Abdullah said at the press conference.
Understandable. The world saw what happened last time there was a mass expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine. Refugees are meant to return to their home, eventually - Israel has no interest in letting any Palestinians back to complicate the matter of land seizure.
They just don’t want fresh Hamas terrorist cells popping up and trying to start a coup in their country. There are many large Muslim countries in the area and non of them want to allow a single Palestinian in.
Yes, because Hamas is well-known for their stark opposition to the existence of other Arab states. /s
Other Arab states (understandably) don’t want the burden of millions more Palestinian refugees with no timetable on when Israel will allow them to return
Perhaps you’re not aware, but Palestinian refugees tried to assassinate the king and overthrow Jordan when they were let in and later participated in destabilizing Lebanon during its civil war. This was before Hamas existed but the radicalized factions that participated in this were the equivalent of the time.
Many Palestinian refugees seem to be hostile to any government that doesn’t make revenge on Israel it’s top priority, Arab or not, and will generally launch attacks on Israel from any neighboring states they are allowed into. In fact, Hezbollah is attacking Israel from Lebanon right now.