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Jordan and the Palestinian Cause Consistent Support for the Palestinians From Madrid, we went to the United States and an agenda was set for all the issues that should be tackled, on the Jordanian-Israeli level this time. We stopped detailed talks on these issues until after the Palestinian track was reactivated. We were surprised by the well-known Oslo decisions. We then allowed our delegation to resume talks. Following strenuous talks and negotiations, we reached an agreement on restoring our land, right, and waters. This did not prevent us, nor will it ever prevent us, from supporting the Palestinian people. We are the closest brother to the Palestinian people. We will support them by all means. Address to Members of the Executive,
Legislative and Judicial Branches
In 1974, therefore, we tried our best to convince our brothers. We told them: Brothers, the West Bank territory is an occupied Jordanian territory. Let us try to regain it. It is just like the Egyptian territory that belonged to Egypt, the occupied Syrian territory, or the Lebanese territory. We do not want this territory to be returned to us. Leave it under UN or any other supervision until the people decide what they want . . . . In Rabat, our brothers made their decision and we accepted their decision after we had explained our views on all dangers. The PLO was elected as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Since then we have been committed to this stand, and we will never change this stand. We were pained not because we were affected by this, but because the PLO was given this responsibility while Palestine was still occupied. There could have been talk about the establishment of a Palestinian state before 1967; however, this is what happened. Address to Members of the Executive,
Legislative and Judicial Branches
Throughout the journey of life and for many many years I’ve known my brother President Arafat. I’m very touched by the fact that he honors me this evening for being with us and by being here. He had his aims, he had his objectives, and so did I. We lacked the ability to communicate and understand each other many a time, and there were many times that we didn’t see eye to eye. But this man has learned, as great people learn, through experience. He has fought, he has struggled, he has come to the conclusion, which I share with him, that it is futile to do anything except to commit to peace—peace and a better future for peoples. He has done everything he could without a long-established state to back him, with territories under occupation, with difficulties with every day, with nothing to show—certainly not very much at recent times—for all the troubles, for all the work, for all the commitment. Particularly in the area where it affects people, where it affects people in terms of the quality of life and its improvement. Where it indicates to people, the overwhelming majority of people who belong to the peace camp, that peace, although slow in coming, brings with it benefits. Brings with it a difference between a dark yesterday and a bright tomorrow. I can assure him that he’s not alone. He will have my fullest support as long as I live, and that of my country. Address to Representatives of the German
Media
The position of Jordan before the Rabat summit of 1974 was that all the territories occupied from Jordan in 1967 should be returned, with minor reciprocal adjustments that would be acceptable to both parties. They would not necessarily return to Jordan. They could have been placed under international or Arab supervision, or any other form of supervision until the people decide their destiny. If they wanted their independent state, good and well. Essentially, our position was that it was occupied territory for which we were responsible. . . . After 1974, the picture became different. The PLO became the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, thus it became the responsible party. I believe that the Arabs at that time burdened it with more than it could handle. We warned against this, but it happened. We went along with the Arab decision, we have continued to do so, and we shall go on. The picture now is different from what it was. The Palestinian side bears its responsibilities and it is responsible for the future of the Palestinian cause regarding the Palestinian rights on Palestinian soil. We have a duty to fulfill. We have a duty to support the Palestinian people and we shall not let them down. We shall not be the weak wall that fails to give the necessary support. Interview with Orbit Television
Our sole objective and concern is to be supportive, as we have always been, of our Palestinian brothers in their claim of their rights on their national soil. It is there that their independent state should be created, with Jerusalem as its capital, nowhere else. There will be danger for as long as things do not go in the right direction. Interview with Orbit Television
The overlapping of Jordanian and Palestinian interests in the interim period and final status negotiations requires us to coordinate with our brethren and to use our utmost potential to support their rights, while having full respect for the independence of their negotiating track, and for their absolute right to negotiate their own rights. Letter to Prime Minister Abdel Salaam
al-Majali
Recently, we have noticed that some Israeli circles go far in presuming to speak in the name of Jordan by claiming that our security will be compromised in the event of the rise of a Palestinian state. This is used as a pretext to prevent an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian land on the Jordan River, by claiming that our security and theirs require such an unfair decision that deprives our brethren of their rights. These claims are baseless and they are categorically and unequivocally rejected. We felt that this needed to be clarified, not at the national level, for Jordanians are fully aware of our positions, but at the international level in order for the truth to be highlighted, lest it be distorted in any way, shape or form. Jordan does not fear anyone in this neighborhood. For the Palestinians are our brethren, and Israel and Jordan are bound by a peace treaty. In any event, Jordan is quite capable of defending itself and bears the responsibility for that. Letter to Prime Minister Abdel Salaam
al-Majali
Since the start of this process, and until now, we have been careful to give all support to our Palestinian brothers and their sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organisation, and their leadership which was elected subsequently, in their quest and struggle to regain their rights and to establish their state on their national soil. We shall continue to support them in every way we can, until they achieve all their ambitions, and until the peace process realizes its objectives in all streams, to achieve a comprehensive, permanent, and just peace in the region. We do this through our commitment to the cause of our Arab nation, our duty towards our Palestinian brothers, and the right of the peoples of this region, and their future generations, to a life in security, stability, and dignity. Address to the Meeting of Arab Political
Parties
My country is small in its size and resources, but it is large in its aspirations. We have suffered enormously from successive wars in the Middle East, which resulted in the tragedy of the Palestinian people. We absorbed the human consequences of their plight in an honorable way that is without parallel in the region. Jordan became the sanctuary and the homeland of all, regardless of their origins or the reason for their presence on our soil. Address to the United Nations General
Assembly on the Occasion of the
But in making peace with Israel, and in determining to live with Israel on terms of mutual trust, security and cooperation, we did not forget or neglect the other vital component of the Holy Land—that of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights on their own land. We believe that the Palestinian people have the right, in this new era of peace, to enjoy the same security and the same hoped-for prosperity on their own land. We will continue to support them, as we have through all these years, in all their legitimate goals, and in all their legitimate activities. Address to the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe
The realization of the Palestinians’ rights to self-determination, to return or compensation, and to a decent life, are legitimate aims. We share with them many other concerns such as access to water, the environment, the settlement of the problem of their refugees and displaced populations. And we share with them, and not only with them, our concern for the future of Holy Jerusalem. Address to the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe
We in Jordan had to offer a Jordanian umbrella to our Palestinian brethren to enable them to negotiate directly with the Israeli side. We thus helped them to assume their responsibilities, in accordance with their own aspirations and desires, since the Rabat summit of 1974—supported by all Arabs and Muslims—to assume responsibility themselves for all that directly pertains to their own affairs. This led to negotiations and to a direct Palestinian-Israeli agreement, without further need for the Jordanian umbrella. Address to the Jordanian War College
As you know, we were taken by surprise by the Palestinian-Israeli agreement and the meeting in Washington. After contemplation of what happened, the reaction has been, and is still, to urge the Palestinian Arab people to close ranks on their national soil, and to think carefully and decide whatever they want. We will not practice brinkmanship with them, but we support them to the best of our capabilities. Remarks to the Jordanian Cabinet and House
of Representatives
Also, the Palestinian cause has been the core and essence of the Arab-Israeli conflict from the beginning. As for the present, at this critical juncture in terms of the facts on the ground, its implications and expected results, since the Palestinian leadership representing its people has chosen the path of direct dialogue with Israel to deal with the Palestinian cause in all its aspects aiming at the restoration of Palestinian rights on Palestinian national soil in delineated phases based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, we approve of their decision and do not diminish today our commitment of yesterday to support it and the Palestinians and their rights which are not amenable to any disposition but by themselves. Address to the Nation
Looking back at the past, we have attempted with all we can, since the adoption of Security Council Resolution 242 in November 1967, to achieve progress towards the comprehensive implementation of that resolution. Then, in 1972 we announced that we were striving to remove the occupation from all the occupied lands in the West Bank, not to regain it for ourselves, but to place it under international auspices to enable the Palestinians in absolute freedom to decide on one of three options, one of which we had excluded right from the beginning, which was a return to the original union. This was in recognition of the fact of Palestinian adherence to the Palestinian identity and of Jordanian adherence to the Jordanian identity, despite the close ties between members of our one family. Only two options remained: a federal state or an independent Palestinian state—chosen in absolute freedom. This was also in response to the position of the Israeli leadership, which had refused to acknowledge any sovereign right by Jordan over the occupied West Bank and which had regarded the union between the two banks—held in trust until the resolution of the Palestinian issue in all its aspects—as Jordanian occupation terminated in 1967. Unfortunately, this position coincided with an acceptance by many of our Palestinian and Arab brethren of this interpretation. In addition to the above, we on our part called for the need for all Palestinians to come together under one Palestinian umbrella in the West Bank and Gaza once the occupation had come to an end. In other words, Israel had refused to recognize Jordan's right to strive to rescue the West Bank or to represent the Palestinians. . . . Then the Arab summit of Rabat was held in 1974. After extensive discussions, we responded to the wish of our Palestinian brethren and the entire Arab nation to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian Arab people. We committed ourselves to supporting it and to cooperating with it out of a desire to serve the struggle of the Palestinian Arab people in occupied Palestine. We regarded this position as one of rational honor to be fulfilled with our utmost capabilities until the occupation had been removed. On the other hand, the course of Israeli politics underwent a radical shift immediately following the Rabat Summit. It began to tell the world that it recognized no other party but Jordan and would not deal with any other party as far as the future and fate of the occupied West Bank were concerned. On our part, we had honored our direct political responsibilities—until the Rabat Summit—towards the occupied West Bank. We were committed to seeking its rescue and liberation to enable it to determine its own future. Then we adhered to the Rabat resolution with tenacity, sincerity and honor. This was done through the attempt, more than once, at Jordanian-Palestinian coordination and agreement; the decision to disengage legal and administrative ties with the West Bank, on the basis that it was an internal Jordanian-Palestinian affair not amenable to being relegated to any other party; through providing the umbrella to our Palestinian brethren at the Madrid, Moscow and Washington conferences enabling them to exercise their right to represent themselves; and up to the mutual Palestinian-Israeli recognition in Washington on September 13, 1993, and the start of the Palestinian-Israeli march towards peace—which we wish success, with God's help, in achieving its objectives. Such was our position. No one may claim that while we shouldered our responsibilities—until we were relieved of their direct exercise in 1974—we had ceded an inch of Palestinian territory or an iota of the right of its people to their homeland. We then continued to support the people of Palestine and their right on their national soil—as an act of honor and a duty to be fulfilled until the need for it no longer exists. We also continued to provide assistance in the services of the common good as well as of peace. Address to the Nation
It is no secret that in the past regrettably over many many years there has been suspicion of Jordan and its wishes and desires and ambitions. Our ambition has only been one and that is to help the people of Palestine regain their rights on their legitimate soil. We are the closest to them of any Arab brethren, by virtue of facts, by virtue of experience, by virtue of all we have passed through. Press Conference
We are painfully aware that Palestine is a trust in the hands of an Arab nation whose resolve has wavered, except for those of us who have held fast to the land hallowed by God in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa. For when its people chose union, we agreed and proceeded to hold it in trust. And when they chose their independence, five years ago, and the independent decision and PLO representation before that, we blessed their choice. We announced the severance of ties, in accordance with their choice, which was supported by all the leaders of the Arab countries, without prejudice to brotherhood, loyalty or common sacrifice. We implored the Almighty to assist them in carrying out their historic mission. We gave them every necessary support and accepted the formula of a joint delegation to the peace negotiations as an umbrella enabling them to join the battle for peace. Address to the Royal Staff and Command
College
At this juncture, we again stand by the Palestinians in their attempt to achieve their rights on their national soil along the path of peace they have chosen. The West Bank and Jerusalem, which were rescued by the men of the Arab Army under the leadership of Abdullah bin al-Hussein, and whose people chose the union that arose between the two banks of the Jordan River, have been held in trust and defended by us. We strove to rescue them for their own people. We never bargained over one inch of territory or over one iota of the right of its people to their land. All until the Palestinians, aided by all Arabs and by Muslims, chose their own path, starting with the Rabat Summit in 1974 and culminating in the Oslo Agreement with the government of Israel, an agreement that signaled their departure from under the Jordanian umbrella which had taken them to the negotiating table. Address to the Nation
Nevertheless, Jordanians should be proud that had their country not been established on this land, nothing would have been left to discuss now. And that had it not been for their sacrifices and struggle throughout the course of the Palestinian problem there would not have been a West Bank left for us to retrieve for its rightful owners on the basis of Security Council resolutions; that had it not been for the unity of Jordan and the West Bank, that included Arab Jerusalem which we saved in 1948, we would not have the cause of Jerusalem, especially since all other Arab states stood with the rest of the world in favor of the internationalization of the Holy City except for Pakistan, and Britain, which was bound to Jordan by a treaty. Jordanians, irrespective of their roots, should be proud that, together, they have withstood the consequences of the tragedy which fell upon Palestine and its people. Address to the Jordanian National Congress
Sharif Hussein gave up his throne in defense of the Arab character of Palestine, refusing to sign a treaty with Britain unless it stipulated the annulment of the Balfour Declaration. King Abdullah paid with his life for attempting in all sincerity to rescue the greater part of Palestine, having applied his outstanding foresight to an understanding of the historic juncture of our nation’s progress and to the magnitude of the international consipiracy against Palestine. Having called for an acceptance of the partition resolution of 1947, he waged war when war became inevitable, with the result that Jordan, despite political constraints and limited resources, was able to preserve the larger part of what remained of Palestine. Despite the merger of 1950, “on a basis of parliamentary constitutional rule and equality of rights and obligations among the citizens,” the unity declaration emphasized “that all Arab rights in Palestine be protected and that those rights be defended by all legitimate means to the fullest extent, without prejudice to the final settlement of its just cause.” Address at the Opening of the 17th Session
of the Palestine National Council
Israeli officials have constantly reiterated that Jordan must solve the Palestinian problem by absorbing the Palestinians itself. But the answer to this argument is a very simple one. When we speak of Palestinian rights we speak of a clearly defined territory and an equally clearly defined people who have inhabited that territory on a continuous basis for several centuries. That territory, which lies west of the Jordan River, is Palestine. It is as simple as that. Address to the United Nations General
Assembly
The final myth is that the Palestinian problem is secondary to the main issues of the conflict, which concern only Israel and the Arab states. According to the Israeli prime minister, by insisting on the primacy of the Palestine question, “The Arabs have put the cart before the horse.” My friends, the horse is in the cart. This myth is designed to counter world recognition of Palestinian rights. Israel is avoiding an issue which must be resolved if peace is to be achieved. Address to the World Affairs Council
The Palestinian problem cannot truly be solved without the presence and participation of the Palestinians, and their legitimate representative, the PLO. This is a proposition Israel should accept. It need be neither as painful nor as fruitless as she seems to fear. For years Israel has proclaimed that the parties to the conflict must be the parties to the peace. She has similarly insisted that peace can be attained only through direct negotiation. Israel cannot choose her negotiating partners any more than the Arabs can. And she cannot, in good conscience, exclude from negotiations the representatives of the original party to the conflict—the Palestinians themselves. Address to the World Affairs Council
Indeed the welcome we extended to the Palestinian refugees in Jordan was unique in the Arab world. We had made it possible for a third of the Palestinian population to become one people with the Jordanians, from the west bank of the Jordan to the east. In Jordan, the Palestinian population could, without a single restriction and simply by asking, take on Jordanian citizenship, with rights identical to those of any other Jordanian citizen in every domain: civil, political, military, etc. This was hardly the case in the other Arab countries. They were content to open their doors to the Palestinians only as refugees, with no privileges except that of living in camps until things should take care of themselves. pp. 14-15, My War With Israel,1969.
We pride ourselves that the refugees are better cared for in Jordan than anywhere else in the Arab world, and one thing we always seek to give them—their human dignity. Our approach to the refugee problem has been simple. If we are to keep their spirits alive and not allow them to wither, since we must try our utmost to uphold their pride and their reason for living, they must be treated as human beings, not merely be left in camps just to survive. It is possible to be alive and dead at the same time, and this we cannot allow to happen. Because of our different approach to the refugee problem, we have been consistently attacked by some other Arab states. They even accuse us of trying to solve the Palestine problem by settling Palestinians and giving them a chance to live so that they forget their cause and lost homeland. p. 127, Uneasy Lies the Head, 1962
Just as the fighting was ending, over two thousand Palestinians held a great meeting in Jericho and decided to unite the rump of Palestine and Jordan under King Abdullah. This was perhaps my grandfather’s greatest triumph of humanity. While the other Arab leaders sat waiting, watching, hoping, blaming each other, my grandfather acted. A man of great foresight, blended with realism, and a true Arab nationalist, he formally agreed to incorporate into Jordan that part of Palestine which Jordanian troops of the Legion had saved for the Arabs. My grandfather gave nearly one million Palestinians, many of them refugees and destitute, full citizenship. This is how the West Bank of Jordan came into being, an important part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is important to remember that by this move my grandfather without doubt saved this large area of Palestine from becoming part of Israel. Remember too that in 1948 Jordan had an army of under 4,500. p. 124, Uneasy Lies the Head, 1962
There will be no real peace in the Middle East without an honorable, just solution to the Palestine tragedy, and complete restoration of the rights of the Arab people of Palestine. Address to the United Nations General
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