President Donald Trump’s call last month for Jordan to accept Gazans into the Hashemite Kingdom shocked Amman. King Abdullah II congratulated Trump when he took office on Jan. 20, wishing the GOP leader “every success as he commences his second term.” But the goodwill did not last long.

In a Feb. 5 meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah rejected calls to displace Gazans and urged “supporting the steadfastness of Palestinians on their lands.” The next day, Reuters reported that Jordan’s military had been drawing up contingency plans to declare war on Israel should Palestinians be forcibly relocated to the kingdom. Jordanians protested in Amman after Friday prayers on Feb. 7, assailing Trump’s proposal. At the demonstrations, Islamic Action Front Sec. Gen. Wael Saqqa said, “You, Trump, are the Pharaoh of this era.”

Amman has already accepted two waves of Palestinian refugees, in 1948 and 1967, with Palestinians representing some 50% to 60% of the desert kingdom’s population. Should Trump pressure King Abdullah to accept additional Gazans, many Jordanians fear that the country would become an “alternative homeland” for the Palestinians. Ruling out such an option, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi insisted on Jan. 26 that “Jordan is for Jordanians, and Palestine is for Palestinians.” 

Jordanian authorities are not inclined to be perceived as partners in potentially undermining the Palestinian national movement by contributing to the depopulation of Gaza.