Jordan’s approach to the Palestinian issue/from the people’s sympathy to the government’s alignment with the West

Mehr News, International Group: Jordan It is a country that is directly involved with the Palestinian issue. This conflict is caused by several security factors for Jordan. In this article, Jordan’s position regarding the Palestinian conflict is briefly examined.

The importance of Jordanian geography in the Palestinian issue

Jordan gained independence in 1946, but it is one of the largest Arab countries in terms of area. The geography of Jordan is very important because it shares a common border with important Arab countries including Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and also with the occupied territories. Jordan is the closest Arab country to Palestine and the longest line It has a border with Palestine. Considering this geographical location and also considering the area of ​​more than 89,000 square kilometers, 75% of which is desert, Jordan is of great importance, especially to the Zionist regime and the United States.

Jordan also plays a significant role in the developments in Palestine, but this role is mostly to the detriment of the Palestinians. Since the Balfour Declaration of 1917, Western powers have always tried to use Jordan’s geography for the benefit of the Zionist regime. There are more than a million Palestinians in refugee camps in Jordan, refugees who do not consider themselves Jordanian citizens and have affected the demographic composition of the country. It seems that this issue, as well as the area of ​​more than 89,000 square kilometers, is an important factor that Jordan is referred to as an alternative homeland for the Palestinians.

In addition to the population, Jordan annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem after the 1948 war and in 1950. Jordan lost the West Bank to the Zionist regime in 1967. In the 1980s, Jordan gave up the claim of sovereignty over the West Bank in favor of Palestine in order to create an independent Palestinian state and invalidate the alternative homeland plan, but this plan has always existed from the Zionist regime and its supporters. King Abdullah II of Jordan is against the plan of an alternative homeland for the Palestinians and considers the only solution to the Palestinian issue to be a two-state solution. During the past years, Abdullah II has clearly stated on various occasions: “Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine”.

Jordan’s approach to the Palestinian crisis: compromise with the Zionist regime and alignment with the Western powers

The Palestinian crisis is very important in Jordanian foreign policy. and for more than seventy years, a major part of Jordan’s political, economic and security capacities have been directed to this crisis. Since the 1990s, Jordan has taken the path of reconciliation and peace with the Zionist regime. One of the important events in Jordan’s foreign policy is the signing of the Wadi Araba peace treaty with the Zionist regime in 1994. After Egypt, Jordan was the second Arab country to sign a peace agreement with the Zionist regime. The name of this agreement is the name of the place where it was signed.

Wadi Araba is on the borders of Jordan and the Zionist regime. This agreement was signed between Jordan and the Zionist regime under the supervision of Bill Clinton, the president of the United States at the time. In the introduction of this treaty, it is stated: “The goal of both sides is to achieve a just, permanent and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.” While Jordan signed a peace treaty with the Zionist regime, in October 1999 with the aim of securing the country’s borders with the Zionist regime, Hamas offices were closed in Jordan and many of its senior leaders fired the group.

Another important point is that; Jordan’s point of view regarding the solution of the Palestinian issue has largely converged with the great Western powers. One of the reasons for this convergence is that Jordan is not strong enough to adopt an independent foreign policy. In fact, Jordan pursues maintaining its sovereignty and independence through dependence on great powers. However, aligning with Western powers on the Palestinian issue did not prevent Jordan’s territorial integrity from being threatened. Greed for the geography of Jordan for the settlement of Palestinians and the complete occupation of the geography of Palestine by the Zionist regime was pursued in recent years. In the deal of the century presented by Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, Jordan was also mentioned as an alternative homeland. In the current war in Gaza, the Zionist regime suggested that the people of Gaza settle in Jordan. The main goal of this Tel Aviv idea was the forced displacement of the people of Gaza and the complete destruction of Gaza, which was strongly opposed by the Jordanians.

The widespread opposition of the Jordanian people to the Wadi Araba Treaty

Unlike the Jordanian government, which compromises with the Zionist regime considers it to be the provider of the country’s interests, the people of Jordan are against the Wadi Araba agreement and have expressed this opposition many times by holding demonstrations. According to some surveys, more than 80 percent of the Jordanian people are against not only the Wadi Araba agreement but also any relations between the Arab countries and the Zionist regime. In some polls, up to 97% of Jordanians are against peace and reconciliation with the Zionist regime and emphasize the cancellation of the Wadi Araba agreement.

The people of Jordan also have an alternative homeland plan for the Palestinians. They are against and emphasize the formation of an independent Palestinian state. In the current war in Gaza, the people of Jordan have repeatedly held demonstrations, demanding the support of the government of this country for the people of Gaza and also cutting ties with the Zionist regime. This demonstration showed that there is an obvious conflict and contradiction in the approach of the Jordanian people and the government towards the Palestinian issue, and the Jordanian people believe that compromise with the Zionist regime and aligning with the Western powers only serves the interests of Tel Aviv and is an achievement for Jordan as well as the Palestinians. It will not have. However, the Jordanian government is indifferent to the popular opposition. It can be said that this demonstration and conflict prove the obvious weakness of the Jordanian government’s legitimacy.

result

Jordan is one of the important countries in the Palestinian-regime conflict It is Zionist. However, this importance comes from the instrumental view of the Zionist regime and the Western powers towards Jordan. This view, which led to the Wadi Araba peace in 1994, did not make Jordan safe from the security consequences of the Palestinian-Zionist regime conflict, because Jordan has always been referred to as an alternative homeland for the Palestinians, which is both a threat to Jordan’s territorial integrity and Palestine is territorial.

An instrumental view of Jordan in the Palestinian-regime conflict Zionism was also present in the recent military action of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the occupied territories, and Jordan, under the pretext of preserving its sovereignty, cooperated with the Zionist regime to counter Iranian missiles and drones. Meanwhile, Jordan, like most Arab countries, did not take action to stop the Zionist regime’s genocide in Gaza.