A woman sits inside a bus provided by Hungarian authorities for migrants and refugees at Keleti train station in Budapest, Hungary Saturday.(Photo: Marko Drobnjakovic, AP)

The richest Arab nations in the Gulf region aren't taking in Syrian refugees, the largest population of migrants overwhelming neighboring Middle Eastern countries and flooding into Europe.

Persian Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait have pledged or donated hundreds of millions of dollars, but won't resettle those fleeing the Syrian civil war that has been raging for more than four years.

Nearly half of Syria's pre-war population of more than 20 million people have been displaced within Syria or have fled the country, according to the United Nations. The neighboring nations of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq have taken in more than 3.5 million Syrians combined. But tens of thousands more have embarked on perilous journeys this year across the Mediterranean and through the Balkans to reach northern Europe.

"The bottom line is that in terms of resettlement, the Gulf states have not stepped up in accepting refugees," said Geoffrey Mock, the Syria specialist for Amnesty International USA. "They have offered zero resettlement places ... and this is shameful."

Amnesty International singled out Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain for failing to take in Syrians.

The countries have a history of allowing in migrant workers from other Arab nations. Kuwait, in a gesture over the recent crisis, granted long-term residency to 120,000 Syrians already living there.

Nabil Othman, acting regional representative to the Gulf region at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told Bloomberg that 500,000 Syrian migrants are already living in Saudi Arabia. In official documentation they are referred to as “Arab brothers and sisters in distress,” he said.

Luay Al Khatteeb, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the issue may be that the Gulf states fear destabilization from a major influx of migrants.

"They are worried about disturbing their maybe delicate socio-economic demographics. When they enter any country, they will bring with them all the reasons of why they left Syria," Khatteeb said. "The whole political system does not cater to allowing waves of refugees."

Mock argues the Gulf States "are leaders in the Middle East, and they should be showing leadership by helping ... with the burden," he said.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported Saturday that Israeli opposition leader Isaac Hezog has called on his nation to take in Syrian asylum-seekers.

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