Jordanian unions have strongly condemned the king’s participation in the upcoming negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Jordan’s Professional Associations Council, an umbrella organization that represents over 150,000 workers, said in a statement Saturday that the country’s involvement in US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian talks is tantamount to Jordanian acceptance of resettling Palestinians in the kingdom, the annulment of the Palestinian right of return, and deportation of Israeli Arabs to Jordan.
"We believe that direct negotiations do not serve the Palestinian cause and may threaten Jordan’s security," Dr. Ahmad Al-Armouti, president of the Professional Associations Council, told The Media Line.
"Netanyahu has declared that recognizing Israel’s Jewishness and assuring Israel’s security are preconditions for negotiations. Recognizing Israel’s Jewishness means deporting all non-Jews to other areas," Al-Armouti said.
"The phrase ‘Israeli security’ could include the placement of Israeli forces in the Jordan Valley. This would mean the cancellation of a Palestinian state, because their territory would not be contiguous," he added. "We believe Palestine is Arab, and the occupation must be removed."
King Abdullah II is scheduled to leave for Washington this Wednesday to take part in a six-way meeting hosted by US President Barack Obama, alongside Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Tony Blair, the Quartet representative to the Middle East.
During an interview on Israel’s Channel 1 on Saturday, King Abdullah reiterated his position in support of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The King scoffed at the idea that the Palestinian plight would be resolved at Jordan’s expense as "idiotic".
He added that the notion of Jordan as an alternative Palestinian homeland was not worth discussing, since both Jordanians and Palestinians rejected it and it could never be implemented.
The union’s statement included harsh criticism of the Jordanian government and Prime Minister Samir Al-Rifa’i. Condemning the government’s failure to implement political and economic reforms and Jordan’s accelerated process of privatization, the statement called for the resignation of Prime Minister Rifa’i and the establishment of a unity government which would include "all powers in society".
Fahed Khitan, a political analyst for the Jordanian daily Al-Arab Al-Yom, said that opposition to negotiations is voiced both by Palestinians and East Jordanian, a reference to Jordanians who are not Palestinian.
"Palestinians believe that negotiations are useless and any possible solution would only come at the expense of Palestinians," Khitan told The Media Line. "East Jordanians, on the other hand, express concern about the Jordanian identity of the country. They fear the outcome may affect the borders of Jordan and its right to water. They also fear possible deportation of Palestinian refugees from Lebanon and elsewhere into Jordan, changing its national character."
Khitan said that the Jordanian street was very pessimistic about the outcome of negotiations.
"Negotiations in previous years brought no results, and many here feel that entering a new round would only be succumbing to American pressure. According to a recent survey conducted by the Jordanian Center for Strategic Studies, 95% of Jordanians believe Israel is the biggest threat to Jordan’s national security."