Israel's rejection of what Palestinians say is their right of return to their 1948 homes has been a core grievance in the conflict and was one of the thorniest issues in peace talks that last collapsed 15 years ago. The refugee camps have always been the main bastions of Palestinian militancy.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that he wants to “ clean out ” Gaza raised alarm in many quarters, but perhaps nowhere more so than in Jordan. On a Jan. 25 call, Trump pressured Jordanian King Abdullah II to take in many more Palestinian refugees in what would amount to a de facto ethnic cleansing of Gaza.