Israel Matzav

Jordanian elections have an anti-Israel theme

There are parliamentary elections in Jordan this week, and I'm sure you'll all be shocked to hear that the elections' major theme is bashing Israel.

Behind the anger expressed by candidates and voters lies US ally Jordan's greatest fear: That if peacemaking collapses, Israel will try to force it to take in the residents of the West Bank and stand as the Palestinian state. Recent talk by right-wing Israelis about the "Jordanian option" has only fueled the belief here that this is Israel's ultimate plan.

"It would mean Jordan's demise and the obliteration of our national identity," Salameh Ghoweiry, an independent candidate, shouted to loud applause to a crowd of Palestinian Jordanians during a campaign speech in his constituency, Zarqa.

The town, east of the capital, Amman, is the hometown of al-Qaida in Iraq's slain leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and is a center for Islamic hard-liners.

Issues of rising inflation, steep increases in fuel and food prices and unemployment have arisen on the campaign trail as some 763 candidates vie for seats in the 120-member parliament in Tuesday's election. But the theme heard most often — and embraced by candidates of all political stripes — is anger at Israel, even more than in past elections in this country that, along with Egypt, is the only Arab state that has reached peace with Israel.

Many candidates trumpet denunciation of Israel on their campaign banners, and on the stump they call for "political resistance" to defend Jordan from the Israeli threat — avoiding any calls for violence — and for ending the peace treaty, a step King Abdullah II is highly unlikely to take. One moderate running for re-election, Khalil Atiyeh, is seen on posters proudly burning the Israeli flag.

"Resisting the Zionist entity and abolishing the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty is a national duty," proclaim the banners of a leftist, Khaled Ramadan, whose official campaign slogan is "Israel is the enemy."

"Since the peace process is dead, Jordan should prepare to confront Israel's atrocious scheme of forcing more Palestinians out of their homes in the West Bank and dump them in Jordan," Ramadan told The Associated Press in an interview.

Jordan is de facto the 'Palestinian state' (contrary to what this article says, it's not 50% but 70% 'Palestinian'). But because a spoiled 'king' and his family had to be given a consolation prize by the British, 78% of the original 'Palestine mandate' was cut off and given to a small group of Bedouin tribes. And now they pretend that they have a separate identity from the 'Palestinians' on this side of the river.

What could go wrong?

(The picture is downtown Amman).

Labels: Hashemite kingdom, Jordan is Palestine, Palestine mandate

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:44 AM