King Abdullah II:Sovereignty plan will set Israel on collision course with Jordan, warns Jordanian king.
If Israel applies sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria this summer, it will place the Jewish state on a collision course with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, King Abdullah II warned Friday.
Speaking with Der Spiegel in an interview published Friday afternoon, Abdullah questioned the timing of Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty, as outlined by the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan, to parts of Judea and Samaria.
“Is this really the time, in the midst of the corona pandemic, to discuss whether we want a one-state solution for Israel and Palestine? Or should we discuss how we can fight the pandemic together? The two-state solution is the only way for us to move forward here,” the king said.
Abdullah went on to warn that Israel’s sovereignty plan, which is expected to be implemented sometime after July 1st, would create “a massive conflict” between Israel and Jordan.
“Leaders who advocate a one-state solution do not understand what that would mean. What would happen if the Palestinian Authority collapses? There would be more chaos and extremism in the region. If Israel really annexed the West Bank valley in July, it would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.”
When pressed to explain what steps Jordan would take if Israel does apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria, Abdullah refused to specify whether his country would cancel the 1994 peace treaty with Israel, but said that all options would be considered.
Israel inaugurated its 35th government on Thursday, led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, with alternate premier Benny Gantz of the center-left Blue and White party.
In the coalition agreement inked between Netanyahu and Gantz, the government will be free to promote the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria after July 1st.
Last week, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman laid out the conditions for US recognition of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, saying that Israel must wait for the completion of the mapping process before applying sovereignty, to ensure that only areas designated to Israel under the Trump administration peace plan be included.
In addition, Friedman said Israel must leave the door open to final status talks with the Palestinian Authority for a period of four years, and must not expand any of the 15 Israeli towns outside of the major blocs in Judea and Samaria for that four-year period.
(Arutz 7).
