Who, Us? Immoderate and Irresponsible!?
"A confederation between the Palestinians and Jordan may seem to be a good idea in the long term. But for now, it is hard to see how Jordanian leader would agree to turn millions of Palestinians into citizens of the kingdom. It is also hard to see Jordanians agreeing to absorb either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority and share power with them. Still, the talk about a confederation between the Palestinians and Jordan shows that under the current circumstances, the two-state solution (a Palestinian state alongside Israel) is no longer being viewed by Palestinians as a realistic solution that will bring their people a better life."
Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute
It
is unlikely that prominent Jordanian politicians, who have recently
talked about a confederation between the Palestinians and Jordan, are
acting without the backing of King Abdullah (left). Meanwhile, a
majority of Palestinians have seemingly lost confidence in the ability
of their leaders, such as PA President Mahmoud Abbas (right), to achieve
an independent Palestinian state. (Image source: Abdullah: World Bank /
Abbas: US State Dept.)
Jordan may be 70 years old, a country that suddenly bloomed out of the desert by fiat of the British Mandate before leaving the Middle East, but it occupies much of the land that was originally ancient Israel's. Land that, in theory, the international community, led by Great Britain, mused about returning to its original inhabitants. Instead, it became a Hashemite Kingdom, a nation for Bedouin from around the area of Saudi Arabia who moved to their new country but who represent no more than a third of its citizens; the rest are all Palestinians.
That being so, it is reasonable to assume that there is in existence a Palestinian state, but it is named Jordan, and it is ruled by a Hashemite, not a Palestinian. Still, King Abdullah took a beautiful Palestinian Jordanian as his wife and Rania Al Abdullah is his royal consort, an Arab Palestinian representing the majority of the population of Jordan. At one time the PLO under Yasser Arafat was established in Jordan and that became a huge problem because cross-border raids into Israel made Jordan vulnerable to Israeli counter-attacks.
Still, it was the PLO's arrogance in believing it had a right to be a state unto itself within another state whose justice and rules it spurned for its own, and its challenges to the Kingdom of Jordan's authority that brought the two to bloody combat when the Jordanian military attacked the PLO militias and ousted them, gifting Lebanon with their presence. Strange that; no other Arab country really wanted to admit Palestinians among them, viewing them as inconvenient trouble-makers. But now a Jordanian lawmaker of some status is suggesting a collaborative vision of a nascent Palestinian state, with Jordan.
On a recent visit to the West Bank, former Jordanian Prime Minster Abdel Salam Majali suggested a confederation as the "best solution for both Palestinians and Jordanians". There's that trouble-making reputation of the Palestinians that prickles the dander of Hashemite Jordanians, however. And the fact that the terror group Black September memorializes the fight that took place between Jordan and the PLO to expunge their threat from Jordan. Implicit in the suggestion is the recognition that the Palestinian Authority is not ready to rule a Palestinian state; it lacks the experience and the expertise.
It is far more skilled in techniques of corruption and agitation, though diplomacy mitigated against that observation entering the discussion. Instead, the former Jordanian prime minister told his audience: "Jordan cannot live without Palestine and Palestine cannot live without Jordan". As Jews have a habit of saying: "from your mouth to God's ear". Confederation, explained Mr. Majali, would result in Palestinians and Jordanians sharing a joint government and parliament.
He expanded on the issue by explaining his opinion that Palestinians were not yet "fully qualified to assume their responsibilities, especially in the financial field, in wake of the failure of the Arab countries to support them." It isn't, you see, that the Palestinians are incapable of administering their own affairs, but the fault lies in the fact that other Arab countries haven't proffered sufficient 'support' to enable them to do so, which should come as a big surprise to those Arab countries.
Jordanians themselves, for the most part, don't seem to relish the prospect of their Hashemite heritage being further diluted by the presence in the kingdom of even greater numbers of Palestinians. On the other hand, there are those among the Palestinians with tribal links to other Palestinian demographics living in Jordan as Jordanians, who see merit in the idea of such a confederation linking and melding the two societies.
Israel, whom no one is consulting on the matter, would doubtless breathe a gigantic sigh of relief that a moderate and responsible government would be closely monitoring and mentoring its direct opposite.
Labels: Controversy, Israel, Jordan, Palestinian Authority
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, May 26, 2016
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