Hamas denounces Jordan as Palestinian homeland

Ted Belman

Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas, visited King Abdullah of Jordan on Jan 29 and made a special point of saying publically:

    “Hamas stands firm against Israel’s schemes to turn Jordan into a substitute homeland. Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine. We insist on restoring Palestinian rights,”

King Abdullah added his two cents:

    “Jordan supports the Palestinian Authority as well as Palestinian reconciliation,”

    “Uniting the Palestinian stand will strengthen the Palestinian people and help restore their rights,”


Of course they were both referring specifically to the efforts of Mudar Zahran to do just that, namely, “turn Jordan into a substitute homeland” for the Palestinians.

I am glad they went public with this issue. Zahran’s plan and its opposition are now front page news.

Meshaal referred to it as “Israel’s scheme” without any evidence in support.  But that is to be expected, because Hamas blames Israel for everything.

Israel for its part wants nothing to do with it.  She wants the status quo and the Peace treaty with Jordan to remain. Zahran, for his part, wants nothing to do with Israel.  It would just prejudice his chances of success. Zahran is doing this for the Palestinians living in Jordan and not for Israel.

Dr Josef Olmert in Huffington Post dealt with this today:

    “Interestingly enough, the King did not mention the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a root cause of his and his Kingdom’s problems, an omission that comes as a sharp contradiction to what he said in some of his other recent interviews. In them, he blasted Israel for its lack of effort in the peace process, attacked those in Israel (though never mentioning specific names) who relate to Jordan as the alternate Palestinian homeland — the misguided Jordan-is-Palestine crowd of extreme Israeli right-wingers — and went as far as threatening to use his military to prevent it from happening.

    “The rhetoric was harsh, and to many in Israel it seemed totally irrelevant, as the King knows full well that the current Israeli government completely rejects the Jordan-is-Palestine outcry. It seemed that the King has decided to assume a new role — that of the regional pontificator-in-chief, particularly when it concerns Israel and its PM Benjamin Netanyahu. “

But there is nothing new here in that both Hamas and Abdullah don’t want Jordan to become Palestine. This would be so even if Zahran were not organizing his Jordanian Palestinians.

The idea that Israel is behind it, real or imagined, would fortify their efforts to prevent it though no more fortifications are necessary.

If the Muslim Brotherhood really believed that they would win the elections, they would insist on them at a time of their choosing.  Their alliance with Abdullah would only be temporary. This supports Zahran’s argument that the Muslim Brotherhood would not win the elections, the Palestinians would.

Israel’s real concern is that Zahran’s initiative may destabilize the peace treaty with Jordan.  This treaty was threatened by the King when Israel poisoned Meshaal in 1996 in Jordan, resulting in the King demanding from Israel the antidote on pain of ending the treaty.

Jordan is not stable now and is expected to be less stable if and when Assad falls. One cannot expect that things will remain as they are. Either Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood will take over and kill the peace deal, as they are threatening to do in Egypt, or Zahran will succeed.

Certainly Israel has a stake in developments. It is for her to decide whether to be passive or active.

January 30, 2012 | 8 Comments »

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8 Comments / 8 Comments

  1. Centuries of debates, endless peace accords, two-state solutions and so on, and so on
    will not alter the fact that the palestinians have not, do not, and will never have the
    right or the claim to ANY of the land giver to Israel.

  2. History Channel had an episode on Islam today. Muslims are given the credit as the inventors of modern mathematics and while Europe was in the dark ages in discoveries and scholarship, Muslims were riding at the fore. But something happened in the 1500s, and that was that Muslims begin turning on Muslims, going to war with each other, etc. because there were not many new areas for them to conquer. So the Ottoman Empire got its foot in the door, conquering as many Muslim countries as they could. This coincided with the end of the Golden Age of the Scholars. I think a heavy foot was put upon the necks of Muslims where as before they had relative freedom. These spoilers then forced them to think alike, because other Muslims would kill you if you didn’t. There was one Caliph, though, who loved art so much he invited everyone, including enemies, to his art salons and shows.

    The bad guys the show mentioned was Wahhab, then a guy named Qatta or something similar and then Bin Laden, who’s great gift was to quote half the verse in the Quran but not finish the qualifyer following. Now Hamas and Hezbollah leaders belong to this same gangster group. I wonder how long it will take the Muslims to throw them out?

  3. This duplicitous wimp playing a game with living humans, refuses to accept his own citizens holding Jordanian Passports and Jordanian IDs left behind after the Israeli-Jordan Peace Treaty October 26, 1994…. He went as far as canceling the national Identity of his own citizenry (who are mostly of Palestinian stock) if ever caught with any smidgen of irredentism against Jordan.

    The Israeli Palestinian problem can be diffused overnight if this so called Jordanian dwarf will take his citizens back and offset the whole situation.
    He rather see that problem deteriorate like a festering wound rather than lose his throne… What a tragedy, what a tragic operatic figure, what a selfish self centered Royal behavior.
    __________________
    JUDEA & SAMARIA are clear and unquestionably JEWISH!

    ——————————————————————————–
    Last edited by HBendor; 09-06-2010 at 07:53 AM.

  4. The whole object of being “Palestinian” is to destroy Israel. The need for a “homeland” is smoke and mirrors>

  5. In theory the idea is great-in practice, it can’t happen-not with this appeasing SOB Israeli gov’t in power. And so we can chalk this down to pie in the sky talk. Has anyone seen Moshe Feiglin around here lately?

  6. who relate to Jordan as the alternate Palestinian homeland — the misguided Jordan-is-Palestine crowd of extreme Israeli right-wingers — and went as far as threatening to use his military to prevent it from happening.

    What is “extreme right wing” about this proposal? It is perfectly logical and reasonable. Why must a “palestinian” state come at the expense of Israel when a “palestinian” Arab state already exists? The only reason to oppose Jordan as palestine is if one favors the obliteration of the Jewish state.