President Trump’s proposal for resettling Gazans in other countries brought to the forefront a long-forgotten truth: Jordan is Palestinian.
Yes, Jordan is Palestinian, defined by its geography, demographics, history, culture, and identity. It reflects the shared heritage of its people as Arabs on both sides of the Jordan river were called “Palestinians Arabs” until 1948. The idea of a Palestinian Jordan is not just a political maneuver; it is a historical reality that cannot be ignored.
Yet, in a speech earlier this week, King Abdullah emphatically stated that he would “never allow either Tahjeer [the entry of Palestinians into Jordan], Tawteen [accepting Palestinians in Jordan as natives] or Al-Watan Al-Badeel [Jordan becoming Palestine].” The king is afraid that Jordan’s vast Palestinian majority would take over the throne from under him. Hence, he has been isolating them and denying them their most basic civil rights in the name of “protecting the Jordanian identity.” The problem for the king is that each time he brings this up, he actually reminds Jordanians and Palestinians that while he claims to be “protecting Jordan’s identity,”…
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