Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Jordanian option resurrected...again


"New" Mideast Plan -Oakland Ross

Giora Eiland [pictured at right], former head of Israel's National Security Council, [proposed] a complex arrangement involving three-way land swaps, an enlarged Gaza Strip, and the direct involvement of both Jordan and Egypt in a peace deal that would look very different from any under consideration today.

Regarding the West Bank, Jordan might consider reclaiming the sovereignty it exerted between 1948 and 1967, in order to head off the likely alternative - an eventual Hamas takeover. Under this arrangement, Palestinians there would be granted autonomy in all areas except foreign affairs and state security, which would be administered by Amman.
(Toronto Star-Canada)


UPDATE:

Olmert, Barak on Secret Visit to Jordan

Prime Minister Olmert and Defense Minister Barak paid a secret visit to King Abdullah in Jordan, Israel Radio reported. They told the king that Israel could not sit back for long while Gaza militants continued to fire rockets and mortars at Israel.
(Ha'aretz)

2 comments:

LHwrites said...

I don't see this going anywhere. If the UN told America, you can do whatever you want, but Canada will take care of your foreign relations and state security, we would tell the UN pretty much what Georg W. Bush always told them #$@* You! Only we would be in the right this time. Not to say the Palestinians are in the same position we would be, but I just don't see them finding this acceptable.

Bruce said...

Interesting. That is the reaction many people have. But i'd predict that this option, or something like it, will continue to pop up. It's become increasingly clear that the Palestinian Arabs have not produced a real national movement...their national identity was barely clear in 1948...it seems to exist now only as a rejectionist front.

That Egypt should take Gaza back [they didn't want it when Israel gave back the Sinai] and Jordan take back the West Bank then appears in a slightly more reasonably light. Which is probably why it keeps coming up. I suspect it may suit the Jordanians...eventually.