Jordan's king agrees to take in Gazans

It looks like Donald Trump's efforts to get a country like Jordan to take in Gazans is beginning to bear fruit:

King Abdullah II of Jordan visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where the Jordanian king agreed to accept refugees into his country.

The meeting comes after Trump made repeated demands for Jordan and Egypt to take in refugees, despite both countries declining. Trump and Abdullah met to discuss issues including Trump’s Gaza proposal, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ISIS and al-Qaeda, and economic cooperation.

The king and crown prince of Jordan arrived at the White House around noon Tuesday afternoon, where they both attended a bilateral meeting and lunch with the president. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended the meeting — the first official encounter between the King of Jordan and the President of the United States since Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire. [...]

King Abdullah said he is open to coming up with solutions that serve the interests of all parties.

“I think the point is how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody. Obviously, we have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, and especially my people of Jordan.”

Abdullah offered to take 2,000 sick children from the Gaza Strip almost immediately.

Trump called the gesture “beautiful.”

“We really appreciate it,” Trump said. “It’s music to my ears.”

King Abdullah said he wants to wait for the Egyptians to present their plan on how to address the challenges in Gaza.

Trump said he believes there is a 99% chance he will work something out with Egypt. The president previously threatened to withhold aid to the two countries unless a deal could be made, but backed down during the meeting, stating “I do think we’re above that.”

So far, Egypt's premier, Al-Sisi, has been balking at cooperating. But hopefully, that too will be worked out, and Egypt should by all means start accepting Muslims in Gaza into their country. And if aid needs to be withheld to make clear what they should do, then perhaps that's the best thing to do.