Obama gives Jordan's Abdullah the Israel treatment
Just last night, I reported on how President Hussein Obama has been giving 'our friends, the Saudis' the Israel treatment. Now, he's giving it to Jordan's King Abdullah II.
The White House on Monday said President Barack Obama
would not meet with close ally King Abdullah of Jordan -- who is
currently in Washington -- because of scheduling problems.
"The president regrets that he is unable to meet with
him personally on this visit due to scheduling conflicts, including the
State of the Union address," a White House spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, Obama will deliver his final annual address
to a joint session of Congress, a set piece of the U.S. political
calendar.
The White House and Jordanian officials said Abdullah would instead meet with Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
He met with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.
Kerry and Abdullah discussed the fight against the
Islamic State and "efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace
negotiations," a diplomat said.
Abdullah also met with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who
expressed his "deep appreciation... for Jordan's continued
contributions to regional counter-ISIL efforts," Pentagon spokesman
Peter Cook said.
He was referring to the self-proclaimed Islamic State
group, which has seized large chunks of territory in Iraq and Syria and
declared a caliphate ruled in accordance with Islamic law, or sharia.
Obama "looks forward to the opportunity to meet with His Majesty in the near future," the White House official said.
Obama and Abdullah last met in Washington almost a year ago.
On Twitter, The Israel Project's Omri Ceren has assured me that the White House knows exactly what's going on in 'Southern Syria' (i.e. Jordan).
Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told a group of college students this week that the future of the Jordanian monarchy is 'uncertain.'
Any lasting peace deal is probably out of reach until Israel and the
Palestinians "know what happens in Syria and will Jordan remain stable,"
Clinton said in an exchange with college students and others in Mount
Vernon, Iowa.
It is very rare for American leaders to acknolwedge
that the Western-oriented monarchy in Jordan, a key U.S. partner in the
Middle East and powerful peace broker, may fall. The monarchy escaped
the tumult of the Arab Spring and is atempting reforms, but its future
is an open question, as Clinton intimated.
Jordan was the second Arab
state to make peace with Israel, after Egypt, and is an important
go-between with Palestinians and other Sunni Arab states.
According to Jordanian opposition leader Mudar Zahran, Clinton's statement was based on a report circulating in Washington, and did not come from nowhere.
Sources: Hillary Clinton's statement about "#Jordan's unclear future" based on a report being circulating in DC. She's not just guessing #MZ
Jordan's King Abdullah has found what President Hussein Obama is missing. True to his word, Abdullah returned from the United States on Wednesday morning (he cut his trip short) to preside over the execution of two ISIS terrorists.
The death of the pilot, First Lt. Muath al-Kasasbeh,
had spurred promises Tuesday evening of a severe response from Jordan,
but execution of the two prisoners in the early hours of Wednesday came
with unexpected swiftness. It was a dramatic tit-for-tat in the fight
against Islamic State militants who have killed numerous high-profile
hostages as they have spread across Iraq and Syria since last summer.
The
two executed were Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman whose release the
militants had demanded, and Ziad al-Karbouli, a man convicted in 2007 of
plotting terror acts, according to an interior ministry statement.
Jordan last week offered
a prisoner swap under which it said it would exchange Ms. Rishawi for
Lt. Kasasbeh, who had been captured in December after his plane crashed
on a mission over Syria.
Ms. Rishawi—a self-described al Qaeda
operative—was sentenced to death for her role in Amman hotel bombings in
2005. The militants had demanded Ms. Rishawi be handed to them by Jan.
29 to spare the lives of Lt. Kasasbeh and another hostage, Japanese
journalist Kenji Goto
Jordan asked for proof the pilot was alive, however, and the talks
stalled. Islamic State distributed a video Saturday purporting to show
Mr. Goto’s decapitation, drawing condemnation from leaders in Japan,
Jordan, the U.S. and elsewhere.
The video of Lt. Kasasbeh’s
purported killing then emerged on Tuesday evening. The 22-minute video
begins with footage of Jordanian involvement in a U.S.-led military
coalition against Islamic State. It then shows what appears to be Lt.
Kasasbeh describing Jordan’s military operations before he is burned
alive inside a cage.
This is the only response the Islamic terrorists understand. Abdullah is smart enough to know it. If there are enough responses like this one, they will stop.
.
According to the report, Jordan, in a clear breach of its
international obligations, refuses entry to, or forcibly deports,
Palestinian refugees escaping Syria. "Jordan has officially banned entry
to Palestinians from Syria since January 2013 and has forcibly deported
over 100 who managed to enter the country since mid-2012, including
women and children," the report revealed.
The report quotes Basma, a Palestinian woman from Yarmouk refugee
camp in Syria, who describes how the Jordanians turned her and others
back. "They told us, 'You are Palestinians, you aren't allowed to
enter,'" she recounted. "They took us in a bus and dropped us on the
Syrian side of the border at 2 a.m."
Another Palestinian refugee from Damascus, 47-year-old Abdullah, was
quoted as saying: "As we were crossing, the Jordanian army started
firing at us. We all laid down flat on the ground to avoid the gunfire.
After some moments two trucks with army officers came to us, before we
knew what was happening an army officer shot five of us in our legs. We
weren't trying to flee."
During the past three years, Jordan has received millions of Syrian
refugees. But when it comes to Palestinians, the story is different.
The Jordanians are not afraid of the Syrian refugees because they
know that once the crisis is over in their country, they will return to
their homes. Unlike the Palestinians, the Syrians are not seeking
Jordanian citizenship or new lives in the kingdom. The Syrians see their
presence in Jordan as a temporary situation.
There is also no talk about transforming Jordan into a "Syrian
state," as opposed to calls for creating a homeland for the Palestinians
in the kingdom. As such, the Jordanians' problem is with Palestinians,
not Syrians or other Arabs.
Fayez Tarawneh, head of the royal court and former prime minister,
defended the anti-Palestinian measures in a meeting with Human Rights
Watch last year. He said that a large influx of Palestinians from Syria
would alter the demographic balance of the kingdom and cause
instability.
The human rights group said that as a result of the Jordanian
government's policy, many Palestinians from Syria do not have proper
residency papers in Jordan, "making them vulnerable to exploitation,
arrest, and deportation."
It continued that, "undocumented Palestinians from Syria dare not
seek protection or redress from the Jordanian government against
exploitation or other abuses."
Really, the Jordanians aren't doing anything different than any other Arab country. If anything, Jordan is the only Arab country that grants any 'Palestinians' citizenship. And the world's reaction to this kind of treatment of 'Palestinians' by their fellow Arabs?
That's right. The world doesn't give a damn how Arabs treat other Arabs. It only cares how Jews treat Arabs. Double standard par excellence.
In a Facebook posting Thursday, Economics Minister Naftali Bennett
questioned the wisdom of relying on technology to ensure Israel's
defense, as supporters of an Israeli withdrawal from the Jordan Valley
are suggesting. With cameras, electronic alarms, and other gadgets
“protecting” Israelis, asked Bennett cynically, “who needs the IDF”?
...
If those defenses will work in the Jordan Valley, how about in the
rest of the country, Bennett asked facetiously. “They want us to trade
in the IDF for 'smart' defense systems in the Jordan Valley.
“Here is another idea: Let's first install these systems on the Gaza
border, and see how effective these systems are in halting the ongoing
barrage of rocket attacks on southern Israel that we have experienced
since we gave up Gaza to the Palestinians. It would be like a pilot
program for the Jordan Valley surrender,” Bennett said.
And if it works in Gaza, would Bennett suggest that we withdraw from the Jordan Valley, which is topographically different?
The point is that the Jordan Valley is a stalking horse for what's really most problematic: Turning the high ground in Samaria over to the 'Palestinians.' That would be dangerous the day it God forbid happens. Turning over the Jordan Valley would be relatively less dangerous so long as Abdullah of Jordan remains in power. But Netanyahu is afraid to say that we can't turn over the populated areas of Samaria, so he's hiding behind the thinly populated Jordan Valley.
MK Ofir Akunis (Likud), who is considered a close confidante of Prime Minister Netanyahu, told a townhall meeting in Tel Aviv on Saturday that the Kingdom of Jordan is quite nervous about sharing a border with a state of 'Palestine.'
MK Ofir Akunis told a town hall gathering in Tel Aviv on Saturday
that Israeli officials have received feedback from their Jordanian
counterparts who are alarmed at the prospect of an Israeli withdrawal
from the boundary that separates the West Bank from the Hashemite
kingdom.
“The Jordanians are opposed to an Israeli withdrawal from the Jordan
Valley out of fear that if a Palestinian state arises and is taken over
by extremist elements like Hamas and Al-Qaida, this would endanger the
king’s rule, not just Tel Aviv,” Akunis said.
Netanyahu met last week with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman for what was described as a “surprise” visit.
But the Jordanians are apparently more afraid of the Arab League than they are of the 'Palestinians.' They can't say what Akunis said.
Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said earlier this month that
the Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley would be contrary to the
peace agreement signed between the two countries in 1994.
Speaking to a gathering of parliament members, he said that Jordan
“categorically rejects any Israeli intention in this regard and will not
stand idly by, but will act diplomatically,” according to a report on
Thursday in the London-based daily Al-Hayat.
So the Jordanians are happy to have this remain unresolved forever. Well, at the moment there are no realistic better options anyway.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has slammed the European Union after Israeli ambassadors in London, Paris and Rome were summoned over Israel's construction plans in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.
"This is hypocrisy. The EU calls our ambassadors in because of the
construction of a few houses? When did the EU call in the Palestinian
ambassadors about incitement that calls for Israel's destruction?"
Netanyahu asked foreign correspondents at his annual new year reception.
"It's time to stop this hypocrisy," he said. "This imbalance... doesn't advance peace, I think it pushes peace further away."
The European move was apparently coordinated.
Foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP that
Israeli ambassadors in London, Rome and Paris were summoned "in protest"
over the settlement plans, which were unveiled last Friday.
Palmor said that the move was coordinated between the three
governments and that it was possible other European governments might
have matched the move.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office told AFP the Israeli ambassador was summoned "over the Israeli government's recent decision to announce new settlement tenders".
Foreign Office permanent under-secretary Simon Fraser "made clear
that settlement announcements had a detrimental impact on an atmosphere
conducive to productive talks. The UK urged Israel to refrain from
further such announcements," the spokesman said.
I keep saying we should stop announcing it and just do it....
Calling the claim that settlements are an obstacle to a peace agreement
“bogus,” Netanyahu – speaking at an annual reception in Jerusalem for
foreign journalists – blasted the EU move, and asked when was the last
time the EU countries called in the PLO ambassadors to “complain about
incitement to Israel’s destruction,” or to protest that security
officers from the Palestinian Authority were participating in terrorist
attacks against innocent Israelis.
...
The prime minister, who took only three questions on topics he was
informed about in advance, stressed that the settlement announcements
did not breach any commitment that Israel took upon itself when it
entered the talks with the Palestinians last July.
It was clear
to both the Americans and the Palestinians that Israel undertook no
restraints on construction, the prime minister said. This was an
unspoken, unwritten part of the deal that was very clear to everyone,
he said.
“Adding a few houses will not change the map an iota,” Netanyahu said.
He asked if the Palestinians were looking to create an “ethnically cleansed state.”
The article goes on to describe Prime Minister Netanyahu's Wednesday meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, and says that Jordan is not opposed to Israel remaining present in the Jordan Valley.
Diplomatic officials said that Jordan was very concerned about the
future security arrangements in the Jordan Valley, and according to
some reports was not opposed – as the Palestinians are – to an Israeli
security presence there following a peace accord and establishment of a
Palestinian state.
With the US remaining tight-lipped about the details, little news has
filtered out about Kerry's proposals to bridge the huge gaps between the
two sides as they seek to draw up the contours of two states living
side-by-side.
But talks appear to have focused on security in the Jordan Valley, on
the border between the West Bank and Jordan, as well as the fate of
Jerusalem, which both sides claim as their future capital.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia will be key to any deal.
Not only does Jordan border the occupied West Bank, it also has a
historic role in the guardianship of Muslim sites in Israeli-annexed
Arab east Jerusalem which is recognised under their 1994 peace treaty,.
Saudi Arabia authored a 2002 peace plan which is the basis of Arab aspirations for any settlements.
Kerry emerged from talks at the secluded desert residence of Saudi King
Abdullah late Sunday to say he had won the support of the influential
Arab leader.
"His Majesty was not just encouraging, but supported our efforts and
hopes that we can be successful in the days ahead and believes that this
is important for the region and that there are great benefits that will
come to everybody if we're able to be successful," Kerry said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal agreed it had been "an excellent meeting."
Even Kerry is acknowledging that his efforts might not succeed.
"But I cannot tell you when particularly the last pieces may decide to
fall into place or may fall on the floor and leave the puzzle
unfinished. That's exactly what makes this such a challenge, and also so
interesting at the same time."
The puzzle pieces that fall onto the floor are apparently of no concern to Kerry. But here in Israel, at Ground Zero, we worry that those puzzle pieces are going to cost a lot of lives, God Forbid.
Whom does Jordan want controlling its border with Israel/the 'Palestinians'
With all of the discussion about the Jordan Valley in recent weeks, one question that has largely been ignored is the preference of the party on the other side of the border. Whom does Jordan want to see in control of the Jordan Valley and its western border: Israel or the 'Palestinians'? The answer - from Khaled Abu Toameh - might surprise you.
In private off-the-record meetings, top Jordanian officials make it
crystal clear that they prefer to see Israel sitting along their shared
border.
...
It is no secret that the Jordanians have long been worried about the
repercussions of the presence of Palestinians on their border.
In a recent closed briefing with a high-ranking Jordanian security
official, he was asked about the kingdom's position regarding the
possibility that Palestinians might one day replace Israel along the
border with Jordan.
"May God forbid!" the official retorted. "We have repeatedly made it
clear to the Israeli side that we will not agree to the presence of a
third party at our border."
The official explained that Jordan's stance was not new. "This has
been our position since 1967," he said. "The late King Hussein made this
clear to all Israeli governments and now His majesty, King Abdullah,
remains committed to this position."
Jordan's opposition to placing the border crossings with the West
Bank under Palestinian control is not only based on security concerns.
...
Besides the security concerns, the Jordanians are also worried about
the demographic implications of Palestinian security and civilian
presence over the border.
Their worst nightmare, as a veteran Jordanian diplomat once told
Israeli colleagues during a private encounter, is that once the
Palestinians are given control over the border, thousands of them from
the future Palestinian state would pour into Jordan.
The Jordanians already have a "problem" with the fact that their
kingdom's population consists of a Palestinian majority, which some say
has reached over 80%. The last thing the Jordanians want is to see
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians move from the West Bank or Gaza
Strip into the kingdom.
Although the Jordanians are not part of the ongoing peace talks
between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, they are hoping that
Israel will not rush to abandon security control over its long border
with the kingdom. Understandably, the Jordanian monarchy cannot go
public with its stance for fear of being accused by Arabs and Muslims of
treason and collaboration with the "Zionist enemy."
The Egyptians today know what the Jordanians have been aware of for a
long time -- that a shared border with Fatah or Hamas or any other
Palestinian group is a recipe for instability and anarchy.
King Abdullah is motivated by his instinct for self-preservation. We should be no less motivated by the same instinct.
This week on Arutz Sheva's Reality Bytes Radio with Josh Hasten,
controversial Jordanian writer and activist Mudar Zahran returns to the
show for an exclusive interview. He stated, that King Abdullah II and
Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan have left the
country. News reports say it's because of a working visits to Europe.
But Zahran has other thoughts on the timing of his trip abroad as he
anticipates an "Arab Spring: uprising in Jordan as well.
Plus, hear from an Arab perspective on whether or not the United
Kingdom and the United States will attack Syria and if Syria will then
attack Israel in response.
For a past interview with Mudar Zahran on Reality Bytes click here.
Two states for two peoples... on two sides of the Jordan
At a conference on Sunday about a two-state solution on the two banks of the Jordan River (Jews to the West, Arabs to the East), the results of a poll were released that indicated that 19% of Israeli Jews support the idea of Jordan being the 'Palestinian state.' But most Israeli Jews don't expect it to happen, and they support... the status quo.
Some 19 percent of Jewish Israelis prefer to see a Palestinian state in Jordan
rather than in the West Bank, but only 7% really think it could happen,
according to a Maagar Mochot poll commissioned by Professors for a Stronger
Israel.
“There are alternatives; we are not sitting with a gun to our
heads,” said former National Union MK Arye Eldad, as he addressed a daylong
conference on Sunday that debated all aspects of the question of two states for
two peoples on two banks of the Jordan River.
There are more options than
the standard equation of “Either we will have a Palestinian state in Judea and
Samaria, or we will have a bi-national state,” Eldad said.
...
[E]ventually King Abdullah’s Hashemite Kingdom will fall prey to the Arab Spring,
which has caused the ouster of other regional leaders.
“We need to have a
plan in the drawer for that moment,” he said.
...
Mudar
Zahran, a Jordanian- Palestinian political activist who lives in London, said he
believed that King Abdullah II’s reign would soon end.
Based on the
Maagar Mochot poll, however, only a minority of those questioned supported a
two-state solution in which Palestine was on the east side of the Jordan
River.
Out of those polled, 41% of Jewish Israelis preferred the status
quo and 51% said they believed that the situation would stay the same. Only 11%
said they preferred a two-state solution in the West Bank based on land swaps,
and only 21% said they believed this would happen. Some 29% said they did not
have a solution.
...
According to the poll, 53% of Likud Beytenu supporters said they
preferred the status quo, 1% wanted a two-state solution in the West Bank and
30% supported Jordan as a Palestinian state.
Among Shas and UTJ party
supporters, 67% preferred the status quo, 3% wanted a two-state solution in the
West Bank and 21% wanted Jordan to be a Palestinian state.
Among the Yesh
Atid, Hatnua and Kadima parties, 33% preferred the status quo, 14% wanted a
two-state solution in the West Bank and 8% believed that Palestine should be in
Jordan.
Out of those polled from the Labor and Meretz parties, only 7%
preferred the status quo, 52% supported a two-state solution in the West Bank and
none of them wanted to see Jordan become a Palestinian state.
Now, if only someone could find our Prime Minister's backbone.... .
King Abdullah and his loyalists now apparently fear that Egypt's
Muslim Brotherhood is currently working on a plan to stir unrest in
Jordan in order to undermine, or possibly overthrow, the monarchy there
in retaliation for the ouster of Morsi.
The ultimate and declared goal of the Islamists, of course, is to
replace the monarchy with a radical Islamist state that would be a
source of instability in the region and pose a threat to Israel, the US
and moderate Arabs and Muslims.
Without massive and immediate financial and military aid from the
West and oil-rich Gulf countries, Jordan will not be able to withstand
the threat from the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies.
As a precautionary measure, the Jordanian authorities have
strengthened security cooperation with Egypt's General Intelligence
Service and army to thwart any attempt to destabilize the kingdom's
security.
In the context of these efforts, King Abdullah this week dispatched
his foreign minister, Naser Judeh, to Egypt's capital, Cairo, for urgent
talks with Egypt's new rulers.
According to the Jordanians, Judeh travelled to Cairo to express Jordan's support for Egypt's "prosperity and progress."
Judeh also delivered a letter from King Abdullah to Egyptian Interim
President Adli Mansour "affirming Jordan's support for Egypt in
overcoming the circumstances it is going through and preserving its
security and stability."
In addition to increasing security and political coordination with
the new rulers of Egypt, King Abdullah has also unleashed a media
campaign to discredit Jordan's Islamists.
According to the report, Jordanian King Abdullah made the decision in
March during US President Barack Obama's visit to Jordan, which came
immediately after his first trip as president to Israel.
Le Figaro quoted the military
source as saying that the Israeli drones fly at night to avoid
detection. The source added that "the Syrians have Russian air defense
assets, but Israeli aircraft are difficult to detect and therefore
virtually immune to anti-aircraft measures."
According to the
source, the unmanned aerial vehicles are carrying out surveillance, but
"they are also armed and therefore can hit targets anywhere in Syria."
The Jordanian air corridors allow Israel to avoid accessing Syrian
airspace through southern Lebanon, which it fears could draw a response
from Hezbollah, Le Figaro added.
The instinct for self-preservation is an amazing thing.
Habash told Wafa news agency that the agreement outlined coordination
for the protection of all Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
The agreement confirmed Jordan's historic role in protecting
sacred sites in Jerusalem, Habash said. It also confirmed Palestinian
sovereignty over all of Palestine, including its capital East Jerusalem,
the minister added.
But I guess that the 'Palestinians' don't consider Jerusalem to be a holy site for Christians, a position I suspect that many Christians would dispute.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Ma'an that forces
arrested six Palestinians in the compound for throwing stones at groups
of Jewish and Christian visitors.
The compound is the third holiest site in Islam. It is known as the Temple Mount to Jews and is Judaism's most sacred site.
So much for all those Leftists who believe that King Abdullah hates Binyamin Netanyahu and would gladly see Israel replaced by a 'Palestinian state.' The King is much smarter than all that, reports Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
Israel, in some ways, is Jordan’s most important ally. As the guarantor
of quiet on Israel’s eastern front, and as the defender of the peace
treaty that King Hussein forged with Yitzhak Rabin in 1994, Abdullah’s
Jordan is essential to the Israelis. Jordan and Israel are also working
together to prevent the chaos of Syria from spilling into their
countries. The king would not talk about joint Jordanian-Israeli
operations, but several sources in Amman and Tel Aviv told me that
Israeli drones are monitoring the Jordan-Syria border on Jordan’s
behalf, and that military and intelligence officials from the two
countries are in constant contact, planning for post–Bashar al‑Assad
chaos.
Even as Abdullah envisions ceding more of his power, he draws one red
line: “I don’t want a government to come in and say, ‘We repudiate the
peace treaty with Israel.’ ” He is cautious when speaking about the
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he is reportedly
in regular communication. He would say only that his relationship with
Netanyahu is “very strong. Our discussions have really improved.”
Abdullah says he is pessimistic about Israel's future.
Though he acknowledges the role Netanyahu plays in maintaining
Jordanian stability, he is not optimistic about Israel’s future. King
Abdullah is known as an advocate of two states for two peoples—Israel
secure in its pre-1967 borders, Palestine to be established in Gaza and
the West Bank—but when I asked him in January how much time he thought
was left to implement this idea, his answer surprised me. “It could be
too late already for the two-state solution,” he said. “I don’t know.
Part of me is worried that is already past us.”
If it were too late, what would that mean?
He responded with a single word: “Isratine.” That’s a neologism
popularized by the late Muammar Qaddafi to describe his vision of a
joint Arab-Jewish state. If Israel doesn’t agree to a Palestinian state
quickly, Abdullah said, “apartheid or democracy” will be its choice.
“The practical question is, can Israel exert permanent control over
Palestinians who are disenfranchised ad infinitum, or does it eventually
become a South Africa, which couldn’t survive as a pariah state?”
There are some Israelis, I said, who value Israel more as a Jewish
state than as a democratic state. “The only way you’re going to have a
Jewish part is if you have a two-state solution. That’s the Jewish
part,” he said.
Abdullah is smart enough to understand that Israel's continued existence is the only thing that ensures that his country will not be overrun by its 'Palestinians.' Given that is the case, one has to wonder why Abdullah does not do more to bring about the conditions for a 'settlement.' For example, he could make the 'Palestinian refugees' in Jordan citizens of his country rather than holding them for a 'right of return' that he knows will never happen.
I have the impression from reading Goldberg's piece that perhaps Abdullah would like to do just that but is prevented from doing so by the Bedouin tribes on whom he is dependent to maintain his power. In any event, a 'two-state solution' and the 'right of return' which would demographically extinguish Israel don't go together. Abdullah is smart enough to understand that.
I wonder whether he's discussed this with Netanyahu, or perhaps their discussions have been limited to other areas of mutual interest like Syria and Iran.
"Last week, Netanyahu traveled to Jordan and met King Abdullah
II...In the meeting, they discussed the Middle East peace process," AFP
quoted the source as saying.
The
Jordanian leader warned on that occasion that the window for a
two-state solution would remain open only as long as US President Barack
Obama was in power.
What's going to happen once Obama is no longer in power? Jordan will finally be re-named 'Palestine'?
Netanyahu held 'secret' meeting with Jordan's Abdullah over Syrian chem weapons
Prime Minister Netanyahu met in 'secret' earlier this month with Jordan's King Abdullah to discuss the threat to both of their countries from Syria's chemical weapons stock.
Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg reported in The Atlantic earlier this
month that Israel has asked Jordan twice in the last two months for a
green light to attack chemical weapons facilities in Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent representatives of the
Mossad intelligence agency to Amman twice already, to coordinate the
matter with the Jordanians and receive their "permission" for the
operation, Goldberg wrote.
The Jordanians, however, responded negatively to the request and
refused to grant their approval. American officials quoted in the
article said the Jordanians told Israel the "time was not right" for
such an action.
Goldberg wrote further that while Israel could carry out an operation
of the kind without Jordan's approval, they were worried about the
repercussions it could spark.
Arab media outlets recently reported that the Jordanian army has
declared a state of emergency, and that its troops have been issued gas
masks in anticipation of chemical weapons being employed by the Syrian
regime near the border. Although this report remains unconfirmed, senior
Jordanian officials emphasize that they warned the world that the
Syrians might use such weapons last year, and that such an eventuality
will require the swift intervention of Western powers, since, according
to the Jordanians, no nation in the region, including Israel, can
overcome Syria's chemical weapons arsenal.
In addition to the concer over Assad's use of chemical weapons, senior
Jordanian officials warned last week that Syria may devolve into a
"black hole that sucks Jihadists from around the world." They claim that
despite their warnings to Western nations and Israel against this
expected development in their strife-ridden northern neighbor, advanced
weaponry continues to flow into the hands of Salafist and Jihadist
organizations who are gradually taking over the rebellion against the
regime of Bashar Assad.
The Jordanians fear that with the collapse of the current Syrian
government, this weaponry, together with the experience gained by the
Jihadists, will be aimed toward other targets in the region -
particularly Jordan and Israel.
This is what happens when the United States leads from behind. At the very least, they could be encouraging Abdullah to take the big plunge and work with Israel against Syria. But they won't.
Actions have consequences: Israel not going to bat for Jordan in Washington
The King of 'Palestine'Jordan hasn't sent an envoy to Israel in two years, and the Israeli government has finally decided to respond in kind.
With the prevalent atmosphere in Washington being to cut aid, Israel has in the recent past “put in a good word” on behalf of continued assistance to the Jordanians, something officials said is more difficult now because of the Jordanian refusal to return its ambassador.
The US provides Jordan with some $660 million in aid per year, the result of a five-year agreement signed toward the end of 2008, and running through fiscal year 2014.
The Post has learned that when congressmen interested in cutting budgets query Israel about the status of the Jordanian- Israel relationship, the answer is increasingly that while the intelligence and security relationship is good, the lack of a Jordanian ambassador – a concrete symbol of normal relations between two countries at peace – is not a good sign.
Well, that sounds completely honest. What could go wrong?
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
