President Trump Tells Jordan and Egypt to Take in Palestinian Refugees

Why should the refugee crisis be America's problem?

President Donald Trump is suggesting that countries such as Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinian refugees who are being displaced because of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Trump spoke over the phone on Saturday with King Abdullah of Jordan, 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 the Jordanians.

Trump stated his hope to King Abdullah that Jordan could take in more Palestinians. The nation already has millions of Palestinians, and Trump hopes King Abdullah can add to that number.

"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 of his conversation with the Jordanian leader.

Trump also stated his plans to talk to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and push him to accept Palestinians from the Gaza Strip as well.

"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. 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."

The governments of Egypt and Jordan do not appear to support Trump’s proposal.

“Our principles are clear, and Jordan’s steadfast position to uphold the Palestinians’ presence on their land remains unchanged and will never change,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in a statement.

Egypt stated that “any infringement on those inalienable rights, whether by settlement or annexation of land, or by the depopulation of that land of its people through displacement, encouraged transfer or the uprooting of Palestinians from their land, whether temporarily or long-term.”

The Arab League and Hamas also stated their firm opposition to Trump’s proposal.

“The forced displacement and eviction of people from their land can only be called ethnic cleansing,” the Arab League said.

Hamas demanded the Trump administration “abandon these proposals, which align with Israeli plans and clash with the rights and free will of our people” and “work to enable the Palestinian people to achieve their freedom and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

President Trump will have to work his deal-making magic to get Muslim countries to accept Palestinians refugees from the Gaza Strip. Trump’s proposal would certainly beat importing these refugees to the U.S. or Europe to further hasten the demographic slides of Western nations.