Trump Wants To Flood Jordan With Gazan Refugees. If Jordan Becomes Another Syria, Iran Could Then Attack Israel Through Jordan
Donald Trump wants to have a million and a half Gazan refugees transferred to Egypt and Jordan. These latter two countries have been adamant about not accepting such a proposal, as they are worried that the refugees will stay permanently. Jordan’s population is already two-thirds refugees whose presence have been a huge financial burden on the economy. Adding another half a million refugees to Jordan would be pushing the country further to the edge. Jordan does not share a border with Gaza, but with the West Bank, and herein lies a grave concern of Jordan’s which was reflected in what it told Biden. Jordan told the Biden administration that such a plan would be exploited by Israel to then flood Jordan with West Bank Palestinians.
Jordan is already spending $2 billion per year on its huge refugee population, and the aid Jordan has been getting to take care of them has been shrinking. Jordan’s taking in of Syrian and Iraqi refugees has immensely costed the country of water, electricity, healthcare and education. The cheap labor that refugees provide has also sparked thousands of layoffs of Jordanian citizens.
Regardless of these issues, Trump has dug his heals, persisting that Egypt and Jordan will accept the proposal, saying that he wants the Gazans to live “in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much.” He further stated:
I wish [Sissi] would take some. We helped them a lot, and I’m sure he’d help us. He’s a friend of mine. He’s in… a rough neighborhood. But I think he would do it, and I think the king of Jordan would do it too”
But Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, affirmed that his country’s opposition to Trump’s suggestion was “firm and unwavering.”
Absorbing in more refugees could destabilize Jordan. There are Palestinian terrorists in Jordan who want to overthrow King Abdallah. If the king goes, Jordan will become another Syria. If this happens, then there will be no buffer zone between Israel and Iraq, and allowing Iran to attack Israel through Jordan. The observation that Jordan is a buffer zone between Iraq and Israel was made recently by Thomas Friedman in an interview with the New York Times:
If the U.S. removed its troops we have in eastern Syria — they’re put there to prevent ISIS from returning — and just walked away, you’ll have a free-for-all. It’ll be Turkey versus Kurds. It’ll be Syrians versus Syrians. Israel will move in. It’ll be a complete vacuum.
The most immediate impact will be on the European Union because you’ll get a huge outflow of refugees. And you’ll have a failed state right in the heart of the Middle East. That will be an immediate threat to Jordan, which is a vital U.S. ally. And if Jordan in any way collapses, then you have no buffer between Israel and Iraq, and you’re off to a Middle East that will very quickly, like a wildfire, be engulfed in instability.
If Jordan goes down, then there is no buffer zone not just between Iraq and Israel, but between Iran and Israel. Iraq is a majority Shiite country and already has tons of Shiite militias who are Iran’s proxies. With Jordan destabilized, Iran could then use Iraq as a bridge to enter Jordan and attack Israel.
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