Jordanian king: Relations with Israel are at an 'all time low'
25 years after the festive signing of the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, there are serious tensions between the two countries.
By JPOST EDITORIALA picture of Jordanian King Abdullah and his father, the late King Hussein, is seen as a girl visits the "Island of Peace" in an area known asNaharayim in Hebrew and Baquora in Arabic, on the Jordanian side of the border with Israel November 9, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS)
Jordan’s King Abdullah II last week declared that relations between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom are at an “all-time low” and blamed part of the problem on Israel’s domestic political situation. The king made the comment during in an interview at an event in New York where he was honored by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.Abdullah said: “Part of it is internal [Israeli] politics – I understand that – but not at the expense of something that my father [King Hussein] and the late prime minister [Yitzhak] Rabin fought so hard to achieve.”It’s no secret that 25 years after the festive signing of the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, there are serious tensions between the two countries, which share a long border.The most obvious evidence of the strained relationship is the Jordanian decision, announced last year and implemented this month, not to renew the terms of an annex to the peace agreement that allowed Israelis to lease and farm land at Naharayim – the Island of Peace – in the north of the country, and Tzofar in the South. Another example was the decision by both countries not to hold an event marking the anniversary milestone.At a parliamentary session on November 10, after the gates at Naharayim had been closed to Israeli visitors – for what for now seems like the last time – Abdullah announced, to thunderous applause, “the imposition of our full sovereignty over every inch of those lands.”In the same speech, according to The Jordan Times, the king also stressed: “Our national positions on the Palestinian cause are steadfast, supporting our Palestinian brethren to establish their independent state on the June 4, 1967, lines, with east Jerusalem as its capital. There will be no compromise on safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, despite increasing dangers and threats.”Such talk by the Hashemite ruler underscores that when he describes the problems between Israel and Jordan as being partly attributable to internal Israeli politics, he is presenting only half the picture. It is internal Jordanian politics – not only Israel’s domestic affairs – that seem to be primarily on his mind.Abdullah sees what is going on in the Arab world – and beyond – and realizes that he has to do something to prevent the sort of deadly riots that are taking place in Lebanon, Iraq and Iran from engulfing his kingdom.The so-called Arab Spring is over, and the Syrian civil war seems to be waning, but there is still major unrest in the region. Let’s not forget that Jordan also has borders with Syria and Iraq to the north and east, respectively, and lies beside the Palestinian Authority to the west. It’s an uncomfortable place to be. Jordan’s resources have been strained by the influx of refugees from Syria, and the Palestinians – who still form the majority of Jordan’s population – are suffering like most Jordanian citizens from an ongoing economic crisis.In New York, Abdullah stressed that in his opinion there is no alternative to the two-state solution. He is clearly concerned by the recent US policy shift announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the West Bank settlements are not illegal per se, and by the renewed talk in Israel of extending sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and other areas. The king has also ruled out the so-called Jordanian option: some sort of confederation between the Palestinian territories and Jordan.
In the past, the Jordanian monarch has often warned that Israel must choose between the mentality of “Israel the fortress” or “living in peace and security with its neighbors.” While it is obviously in Abdullah’s interest that Israel remains strong (and continues to supply his country with large quantities of water under the peace agreement), it is not easy for him to see Israel making progress with other countries – including Arab and Muslim ones – without an agreement with the Palestinians.Israel should not be complacent regarding the remarks by the Jordanian king. When he announced last year that he would not extend the lease on Naharayim and Tzofar after the 25-year period was up, Israel unfortunately did not fully believe what he was saying.Part of this is a result of Israeli domestic politics, although not in the way that the king meant. The Foreign Ministry in recent years has had its budget and jurisdiction slashed and only recently got a full-time minister. Whoever forms the next government must ensure that the ministry is supported in order to do its jobs – which includes picking up on diplomatic warning signals and helping repair and maintain good fences.
