For decades, Arab countries played up the “plight of the Palestinians” not because they cared about those people, but because it distracted those countries’ citizens. It gave them an external enemy to hate (Israel) instead of asking questions about their own governments’ actions.
Jordon could have easily absorbed the Palestinians into their general population, but doing so would have removed a political pawn that Jordon could use against Israel. It was better for Jordon if the Palestinians were poor refugees living in squalor so that they could keep saying “look at what Israel did.”
NOTE: I’m not absolving Israel for any of its actions. I’m just adding to the discussion by pointing out that the Arab nations only cared about the Palestinians to advance their own goals. The second their goals didn’t align with the Palestinians’ well-being, they were happy to let the Palestinians suffer and die.
For decades, Arab countries played up the “plight of the Palestinians” not because they cared about those people, but because it distracted those countries’ citizens. It gave them an external enemy to hate (Israel) instead of asking questions about their own governments’ actions.
Jordon could have easily absorbed the Palestinians into their general population, but doing so would have removed a political pawn that Jordon could use against Israel. It was better for Jordon if the Palestinians were poor refugees living in squalor so that they could keep saying “look at what Israel did.”
NOTE: I’m not absolving Israel for any of its actions. I’m just adding to the discussion by pointing out that the Arab nations only cared about the Palestinians to advance their own goals. The second their goals didn’t align with the Palestinians’ well-being, they were happy to let the Palestinians suffer and die.