March 06, 2005The Jordan RulesThe Jordanian Foreign Minister, Hani Mulki, is using Syria's non-pullout as a catalyst to - pressure Israel. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, he equates Syria's ongoing rape of Lebanon with Israel's occupation of the previously-uninhabited high ground between the two countries. Never mind that Syria took the liberty of inviting itself into each country in turn, the primary difference being Israel's ability to defend itself. In the meantime, Jordan wants back the Intecontinental Hotel on the Mount of Olives, which is on territory lost to Israel in the 1967 war. There may be a solution there, inasmuch as the Israeli-Jordanian Peace treaty permitted Israeli farmers to own and work land inside of Jordan. It may be possible to return the hotel to Jordanian control without ceding sovereignty over the Mount. Except for the Jordanians' history in treating the cemetery there. As usual, the existing Arab governments' first reaction to any regional change is to use it as a club against Israel. If Jordan were interested in any way in Syrian peace with Israel, it would try to build on this momentum to bring about change in Damascus. Posted by joshuasharf at March 6, 2005 08:25 PM | TrackBack |
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