JORDAN will not take part in negotiations defining the "final settlement" between the Palestinians and Israel, writes Michael Jansen.
A statement yesterday from the information minister, Mr Marwan Munsher, ended speculation that Jordan was prepared to pursue a "Jordanian option" on the West Bank as an alternative to Palestinian self rule.
His statement should also counter claims put forward by Likud supporters that Jordan approved the election of Mr Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel's prime minister. Such claims were contradicted by Jordan's open demonstration of preference for the incumbent, Mr Shimon Peres with whom King Hussein carried on a productive dialogue for 15 years. Jordan took this line because it would be the Arab country to suffer most from the collapse of the peace process on the Palestinian front.
"Jordan will not become directly involved in Palestinian affairs again," Mr Ibrahim Izzeddin a senior Jordanian politician, told The Irish Times. "Practically, Jordan cannot expect to replace the PLO because the Palestinians will not accept Jordan." But the fate of Jordan's peace treaty with Israel is inextricably linked to what happens in the occupied Palestinian territories. That treaty settled the disputed border between Israel and the kingdom and launched the normalisation of relations between the two countries, but it did nothing to prevent Israel from eventually driving the bulk of the unwanted West Bank Palestinian population into Jordan in 1948 and 1967.
"Progress in negotiations between the PLO and Israel is essential to Jordan," Mr Izzedin stated. "Any slowdown will also adversely affect the economic situation, increasing pressure on Palestinians to come to Jordan for work and discouraging much needed investment."
Jordanians were not encouraged by Mr Netanyahu's speech to the Likud faithful on Sunday. Mr Izzedin said. "He did not mention Syria or the PLO by name. So we have the impression he wants to avoid dealing with the Syrian and PLO leaders. We cannot expect any real movement in the next months."
It is the fear of deadlock which has driven King Hussein to invite the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the Egyptian President, Mr Hosni Mubarak, to a summit today in the Red Sea resort of Aqaba to produce a common Arab policy to in the words of the Jordanian Prime Minister, Mr Abdel Karim Kabariti carry the peace process "forward to reach its logical conclusion, a comprehensive settlement.