Trump's excellent deal of the century
President Donald Trump will push for Jordan to grant citizenship to one million Palestinian refugees as part of his "Deal of the Century," according to the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar.There's more about the topic over here, including that Lebanon's being urged to do this. And it's the right thing to do, to have Arabic countries start accepting their own back into their fold again, and not force them into specific roles or identity politics. This is a plan I can decidedly get behind, since it can work to Israel's benefit, and the Arabs too.
According to UNWRA as of 2016, there were 2 million Palestnian refugees in Jordan.
Trump will also ask Egypt to grant citizenship to Palestinian refugees.
According to the report, Jordan and Egypt will receive USD $110 billion in economic aid. It is not yet clear where this reported aid will come from. Jordan would receive USD $45 billion, and the remainder would go to Egypt. For both of the countries part of the money will be used for implementing projects on the ground.
The absorption would happen in stages, where the largest number of refugees that Jordan would have to take in at one time would be 300,000. Palestinians from Gaza who are currently in Jordan would be included in this deal.
Part of the deal would also include giving Jordanian land, Naharayim and Tzofar, to Israel. These enclaves are currently leased to Israel, but officially Jordanian land. In return, Jordan would receive land from Saudi Arabia, the report claimed.
Labels: Egypt, House of Saud, islam, Israel, Israeli Arabs, jordan, Lebanon