Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Jordanian King Warns Israel of "Massive Conflict" over Annexation


Sat 16 May 2020 | 04:17 PM
Nawal Sayed

The Jordanian King, Abdullah II, warned of a "massive conflict" and more chaos and extremism in the region if Israel annexed parts of the West Bank.

In response to a question whether he would suspend the peace treaty with Israel, in an interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel and published by the Kingdom TV, King Abdullah said:

“I don't want to make threats or create an atmosphere of discord and bickering, but we are studying all options. We agree with many countries in Europe and the international community that the law of power should not be applied in the Middle East.”

Jordanian King Warns Israel Of Massive Conflict Over Annexation

The King of Jordan stressed that “the two-state solution is the only way that will enable us to move forward,” asking “Is the timing really appropriate to discuss whether we want a one-state solution or a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel, and we are in the midst of the battle against the novel coronavirus pandemic? Or should we discuss how we can combat this epidemic?”

"The leaders who call for a one-state solution do not know its consequences, what will happen if the Palestinian National Authority collapses? We will witness more chaos and extremism in the region. And if Israel actually annexed parts of the West Bank in July, this will lead to a massive conflict with the Kingdom of Jordan."

In response to a question whether he feels let down that the war on Iran is now more important to the Gulf leaders than the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, he said that "Jordan has faced challenges before, but let me be fair to my dear brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and others; the one-state solution is still strongly rejected in the Arab League’s meetings.”

“When the one-state solution plan was put forward six or seven months ago, my brother the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz rejected it, and affirmed Saudi Arabia’s standing with the Palestinian state,” he added.

A few days ago, the European Union announced that it would react if Israel continued with what it described as the illegal annexation of lands from the West Bank.

Israel Plans to Annex West Bank Parts and Jordanian Valley

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed confidence that the United States will allow Israel to press ahead with a plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, as he set a July 1 date to discuss extending Israel's sovereignty over parts of the West Bank and annexing the Jordan Valley.

Early this month, the defense minister of the Israeli caretaker government, Naftali Bennett, approved the expansion of the area of ​​the "Efrat" settlement located in the huge settlement complex (Gush Etzion) south of Bethlehem in the south of the West Bank, by about 1100 dunums, in preparation for the construction of approximately 7,000 new residential units.

[caption id="attachment_127160" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Jordanian King Warns Israel Of Massive Conflict Over Annexation Israeli soldiers gather at the crossing checkpoint on the Israeli-Jordanian border[/caption]

In this regard, the Governor of the Jordanian capital, Amman, considered in a statement on Saturday that Israel's annexation of parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley would undermine the Jordanian-Israeli peace agreement and restore violence and clash to the region.

In its statement, the governor referred to the statements of the Jordanian King Abdullah II to the German newspaper "Der Spiegel", considering it an explicit invitation to the entire world to assume its political and moral responsibilities towards the Palestinian cause and the two-state solution.

The statement reaffirmed the position of Jordan and the Jordanian people towards the Palestinian issue, stressing that the Jordanian people supports their leadership in its position on the issue.

Moreover, the statement called on the world to listen to the voice of reason and wisdom in all international forums, holding the Israeli authorities fully responsible towards the peace agreement signed between the two countries, and opening the door to conflict, violence and chaos in the region.