JERASH, Jordan — Izzaat Al-Hindi trudged down a passageway of the Jerash Refugee Camp, navigating potholes, garbage piles and drab, dilapidated buildings. He still remembers the day his family fled here from Gaza, almost 57 years ago.

Earlier this month, the president said he favored taking control of Gaza and displacing the Palestinian population of the devastated seaside enclave. But Egypt and Jordan flatly rejected cooperating.

The administration defends its proposal to expel most Palestinians from the Gaza strip, and not allow them to return, as part of a post-war reconstruction plan.