T. Belman. Pure speculation. Murad also wrote, “The PLO’s rise to that leadership role, again came at the expense of losing international legal claim to the land, which had been the established right of Jordan since the West Bank was occupied while under its rule. “. Jordan had absolutely no international claim to the land. When they declared their independence in 1946 they had no such claim to any of the land west of the river. Having invaded Israel in 1948, they in no way acquired a legal right to the land. Though she annexed her ill gotten gains after the ceasefire, only two countries in the world recognized the annexation. As Konterovich points out, when Israel declared its independence in 1948, international law cedes all af the Mandate lands to them. Thus Israel is the sovereign of all lands to the Jordan River. Jordan has absolutely no right to any part of the “West Bank”. Mudar Zahran reognizes this.
If the King is making these moves for reasons suggested, he is doing so in an attemp to save his throne which is quickly slipping from his grasp.
Jordan appears to be readying itself to jump on the Trump bandwagon leaving the PLO and Hamas behind.
Two recent events confirm that Jordan is seriously considering replacing the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as Israel’s negotiating partner to resolve the allocation of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) between Israel and Jordan:
1. The ending of a 9 months diplomatic impasse between Jordan and Israel following Jordan’s acceptance of Amir Weissbrod as Israel’s new ambassador to Jordan.
Jordan’s approval came after the two countries agreed to end their standoff following the shooting deaths of two Jordanians in the Israeli Embassy compound by an Israeli security guard who Israel alleged opened fire in self-defence after one of the men tried to stab him.
Weissbrod will replace former Ambassador – Einat Schlein – who had hurriedly left Amman last July following this incident.
Restoration of full diplomatic ties will facilitate Israel and Jordan’s ability to amicably resolve the division of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) between their two respective states within the framework of their existing 1994 Peace Treaty – ending a long-running border dispute dating back to 1922.
2. The publication by the Jordan Times on 31 March of an article by Jordanian journalist Nermeen Murad headlined “Should Jordan claim the West Bank on our behalf? An old yet new question”
The Jordan Times is published by the Jordan Press Foundation – in which the Government owned Social Security Investment Fund has a majority stake.
The provocative headline suggests the Government could be flying a trial balloon to gauge public opinion should Jordan decide to negotiate with Israel.
Murad opines:
“Did the Arab world and the Palestinian leadership make a strategic mistake when they kick started a political process that drove Jordan to the 1988 decision to sever legal and administrative ties with the West Bank? That step has long been seen to have, perhaps irreversibly, removed Jordan from the table of any serious negotiations for a final resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based in a “land for peace” formula.”
Murad argues:
“I believe that it can be credibly argued that it was a strategic mistake to focus Arab and Palestinian effort solely on creating an alternate and less legally legitimate claimant to the West Bank, regardless of how nationalistic and symbolic it was to have a Palestinian body representing Palestinian rights, instead of focusing on claiming the land itself as the most pressing priority — even if only for purely tactical considerations.
Murad then concludes:
“.. it appears that the decision to squeeze Jordan out and undermine the legal opportunity that Jordan had to reclaim the West Bank back in the 1970s, is a relevant and important starting point in our review of our past strategies and a critical ingredient in our discussions of a way forward towards a solution.”
Jordan’s long-abandoned West Bank claims could be resurrected following the PLO committing political suicide by refusing to have anything further to do with President Trump’s soon-to-be-released “ultimate deal”.
Trump’s deal will be still-born if no Arab negotiating partner is prepared to sit down with Israel.
In 1988 the PLO could justifiably claim to be the sole spokesman for the Gazan and West Bank Arab populations. Hamas – founded only in 1987 – never represented any challenge to the PLO then. However in 2018 the PLO sole-spokesman claim has been completely undermined by Hamas – which itself has governed Gaza with disastrous results since 2007.
Both organisations continue to fail to reconcile their differences, engage in on-going internecine conflict and refuse to give their long-suffering populations any say in their own future.
Jordan appears to be readying itself to jump on the Trump bandwagon – leaving the PLO and Hamas behind battering themselves into political irrelevance.
@ Bear Klein:
A GOOD Step 1….STEP 2 is to shove back to Area A/B all the Arabs that have sneaked into Area C in the past 2-3-4 years, with the help of the EU and aggressive Anti-Israel backed NGOs.
A few years ago, they were estimating at about 20,000 illegal Arabs in Area C. This was when Bennett first broached the suggestion of claiming and extending Israeli Law there. since then, almost every time I see a report mentioning Area C, the Arab content has swelled like a balloon being blown up.
However, the Palestine Mandate when split created an Arab state in Transjordan east of the Jordan and the Jewish Homeland west of the Jordan-River.
Israel needs to assert its legal right to all of Judea/Samaria and apply Israeli civil law to all the Jewish Towns/Cities in Area C immediately. It should take a registry of all Arabs in Arab C and not allow anymore to move into (granted this is easier written than implemented) Area C. This is Step ONE.
@ Bear Klein:
Bear Klein- You took the words right out of my mouth,,,well…partly. The part about the border being agreed as being the River.
Singer seems to be mythologising when he talks about Jordan’s “long abandoned West Bank(sic) claims”…..There are “claims which never were, never existed, and of which any possible vestige, however imaginary, would have been long spoiled by their barbaric and destructive, denigrating behaviour when in temporary aggressive possession. Never recognised even by the Anti-Semitic world except Britain(their patrons) and Pakistan, their primitive co-religionists, also beholden then to Britain.
The “Palestinians” are also imaginary; there ARE none and never were. Therefore there are NO “Palestinian”….. “rights”.
I think that it is time for the Israeli government to iterate what I have just written above, lay-out it’s legal Sovereignty over the Land to the International Community …(a knowledge they always had, but willfully ignored) and declare that any ARABS LIVING ON OUR LAND ARE DOING SO ONLY AT OUR SUFFERANCE. This is being pro-active at a time when the focal point should be, to be firm and Statesmanlike-both.
We should brush-off the contention that Jordan ever had any kind of rights, lost or otherwise over our Land, and point out,that on the exact contrary, they are occupying OUR Internationally affirmed Land. In other words let us for a change forget about “Tikun Olom” and act the way the Arabs act, and what they understand best. This puts the “cat amongst the pigeons” and the Arabs on the defensive.
(If Mudar Zahran succeeds, it will all be worked out amicably-by comparison.)
And this should be as consistent, and oft repeated as used to be the Herut song about “both sides of the Jordan”… and drown out words like “occupation” “rights” etc.
Singer has now been writing these articles for years about Jordan taking over part of Judea/Samaria. He must be writing them from Tasmania because they do not seem connected to what is best for Israel or actual reality.
He does not remember or fails to acknowledge that the Israel – Jordan peace treaty made the border the Jordan River. Jordan to the east and Israel to the west. Jordan renounced all claims of any land west of the Jordan River.
Israel fought more than one war with Jordan. To expel Jordan from Jerusalem and Judea/Samaria many Israelis lost their lives in the 1967 war. Israel made a huge mistake in letting Jordan have part in the administration of the Temple Mount and this is a constant problem for Israel.
Having Jordanian soldiers or administration taking a role in anything west of the Jordan River is an idea fraught with danger and complication.
The status quo is far more preferably than putting Jordan in charge of anything west of the Jordan River. If Jordan wants to recognize citizenship of the Arabs of Judea/Samaria and allow them to immigrate to Jordan that would be perfectly acceptable.
Maybe Singer is on the Jordan King’s payroll and he is getting paid to expand Jordan’s footprint in the area. Certainly Israel will not be paying for this continued harmful suggestion of involving Jordan in Israelis lives on a day to day basis.