When it comes to facing the “Deal of the Century,” Jordan
has tested some of the most difficult and dangerous options than any diplomatic
measures that could possibly be taken.
اضافة اعلان
With the regional train of normalization in motion, many in
and outside the region have claimed that Jordan and
Palestine’s approach to
peace — a two state solution — is dead.
The general impression was that the regional solution had
surpassed Palestinian parameters and Jordan’s role in the matters of a final
solution, as well as custodianship over Muslim and Christian holy sites.
Jordan did not raise a white flag and Palestinians remained
steadfast in their survival and rejection of the deal. Everyone had been
anticipating the dire consequences that Jordan could have faced for standing
against the
White House. It is no secret that Jordan, at the official and
highest level, had braced itself for the worst, which could have included the
severing of US aid and other, more extreme measures. But for the moment, it has
not occurred to policymakers to address the deal’s outcomes. The announcement
of which at the White House — in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu — turned into a diplomatic battle that saw various parties
pressuring Jordan to attend. Yet the Kingdom did not give in.
As journalists, we have seen Jordan take difficult
diplomatic stances that have resulted in major risks, but Jordan has not
waivered. If researchers in the future had the chance to study the archive of
Jordan-US communication over the past four years, they would find documents
that testify to King Abdullah’s honorable stances regarding the Palestinian
cause, which His Majesty insisted on documenting in handwritten letters that
assure the utmost attachment to Jordanian national interests and the parameters
of a fair solution to the Palestinian cause.
At a time when Jordanian-Israeli relations were at their
worst, coupled with massive tension in relations with the unprecedentedly
biased former US administration, Jordan insisted on canceling the Baqoura and
Al-Ghamr land leasing agreements, restoring Jordan’s absolute sovereignty over
them.
It would have been easy for Jordan to play a game of popular
deception with diplomatic measures against Israel in exchange for letting the
lease agreement slide as it had been pressured to do so by Netanyahu and a
Zionist team from the Trump administration. But it chose the honest and
difficult solution and announced through the direct words of His Majesty King
Abdullah, in a letter to the Trump administration, that it would not renew the
agreement.
Abiding by its position was more costly for Jordan than any
diplomatic measure; in the shadow of a US administration that had no regard for
any of its allies. We have seen how the Trump administration treated major EU
nations and even its neighbors, like Canada.
Jordan has a wide range of options, the most important of which
is holding to the stances that serve Jordan’s higher interest and those of the
Palestinian people. At various milestones in Jordan-Israel relations, the
expulsion of the Israeli ambassador or recall of the Jordanian ambassador from
Tel Aviv was an available option, as was the case when shots were fired at
Jordanians in the Amman embassy.
These options and
others are once again available as potential responses to Israel’s brutal
aggression against the Palestinian people, which has entailed the eviction of
Jerusalemites from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. But from experience these
options have not been and are unlikely to be the most effective. What is most
important now is to hold our stance and surround Israel at international
events, in addition to garnering the support of major international powers and
imposing the authority of international humanitarian law.
We have tested the strength of solid stances against the
“Deal of the Century”, which were enough to disrupt it. History has proven that
any attempts to supersede the Palestinian cause and Jordan’s role are destined
to fail.
Read more opinions
.jpg)
.jpg)
