Jordanian politics

IMRA did a post on a major report published by MEMRI in Dec 2011 on:

The Arab Spring in Jordan: Regime Concerned about Increasing Protests, Calls to Overthrow It

By: H.Varulkar*

Introduction

Since January 2011, Jordan has seen a growing wave of protests and calls for reform by citizens, who have steadily increased the level of their demands. The protests are led by the Islamist movement, which dominates the political opposition, and by the popular protest movement, which encompasses numerous pro-reform organizations established in the recent months. Also prominent in the protest movement are organizations representing Jordan’s tribal population, which for decades was considered the powerbase of the Hashemite regime. In recent years, this population has developed a growing sense of resentment and discrimination as a result of the economic policy advanced by the Jordanian king.[1] This has triggered the emergence of several pro-reform organizations representing the tribes. Political oppositionists have also intensified their criticism against the regime; prominent among them is Islamist oppositionist Laith Shbailat, as well as the former prime minister and chief of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID), Ahmad ‘Obeidat, who has recently emerged as a leading oppositionist and established the National Front for Reform.

These protesters include the MB and the Bedouin tribes. They do not include the Palestinians that comprise over 75% of the population. The Palestinians under Mudar Zahran are biding their time. They do not support the MB, the tribes or the King.

February 25, 2012 | 1 Comment »

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  1. Although it is advantageous to contemplate “Jordan is Palestine”, I am reminded by the wests infatuation with Ahmed Chalabi and touted him to be the PM/ruler of Iraq. We haven’t heard of him since. I fear the same with Mudar Zahran and wonder who are the leaders in Jordan of this 75% “palestinians” now? The chemistry described seems much like that of egypt leading up to the current situation. A so called liberal opposition that melted away under the real power of the MB. Or was this opposition merely a ploy to convince western voters to support the opposition? After all the MB was being supported by the US before the elections. If everyone expects Hamas/MB to win an election in the west bank as well as gaza it appears to me to expect the same in Jordan. Although a diplomatic move to jordan is palestine is good for israel it cannot be depended on. A more realistic approach is to consider the MB takeover of JOrdan and whether israel will seize the small windows of opportunities that may arise to create “jordan is palestine” to israels advantage. However, the phrase “..never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity..” appears to label Israeli leadership as well as “palestinian”