Former President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to bar refugees from Gaza. He said he will immediately expand his first-term travel ban if he wins a second term.
Speaking to supporters in Iowa, Trump said that if he returns to the Oval Office, he will immediately begin “ideological screening” for all immigrants. He will bar those who sympathize with Hamas and Islamist extremists.
The former president and GOP front-runner also said he would aggressively deport resident aliens with “jihadist sympathies.” He plans to send immigration agents to “pro-jihadist demonstrations” to identify violators. The latter sounds like it would lose in court, but I’m not a lawyer.
He also pledged to bar the entry of refugees from Gaza fleeing Israel’s retaliatory strikes. The strikes are in response to the October 7th genocidal massacre of over 1400 Israelis.
Jordan and Egypt Don’t Want Gazans
King Abdullah II of Jordan informed a meeting Tuesday with German Chancellor OIaf Scholz in Berlin that Jordan and Egypt will not accept any refugees fleeing the Gaza Strip.
The Jordanian king said the humanitarian situation must be dealt with inside Gaza and the West Bank and not be pushed into neighboring countries.
“This is a situation that has to be handled within Gaza and the West Bank,” he said, AP reports. “And you don’t have to carry this out on the shoulders of others.”
“The whole region is on the brink,” Abdullah said. “This new cycle of violence is leading us towards the abyss.”
The head of Jordan’s Royal Hashemite Court told Human Rights Watch in May 2013 any influx of Palestinians would alter Jordan’s demographic balance and potentially lead to instability.
Cairo fears the political blowback and security risks should Gazans enter the country.
Subscribe to the Daily Newsletter
