Jordan and Hamas: A "Black September" for the 21st Century?
Last year I wondered through a lobby-stand conflict between a pro-Israeli and a pro-Palestinian group. You'll be supprised how much you can learn from those about the way each side thinks. However what captured my eye was a Palestinian pamphlet on an event that came to be known as "Black Spetemebr". While the pamphlet seems to have gotten its facts somewhat wrong, recent news from the Hashemite kingdom remind Jordanians what it was all about. And if that's true, it could spell disaster for the area; but most notably to Palestinians.
To refresh the minds of those who have forgotten, in September 1970, later known as "Black September" the late Jordanian king Hussein ordered all Palestinian terror groups out of the country following the discovery of a plot organized by the late Yasser Arafat to assasinate the king. Apperantley Arafat believed that since Palestinians at the time comprised 60% of Jordanians, he could easily overcome the king and take power; obviously this was not the case. And so when the plot was discovered all Palestinian organizations were deported to Lebanon in a move that detonated an already voletile situation in the country known as "Switzerland of the Middle East". All this did not prevent the pro-Palestinian group from presenting King Hussein's motivation for this simply as "being influenced by the Zionist entity [a reference to Israel by those who categorically reject its right to exist]" - not a word on the plot. So why is it that I recall of this event today? Because, as I said, of recent news from the Hashemite kingdom.
Al-Jazeera's website reported earlier that Jordan has cancelled a visit by Palestinians Foreign Minister Mahmoud A-Zahr, saying that it is "because members of his Hamas party have been smuggling missiles and other weapons into the kingdom". These are indeed worrisom news which I hope are not true. It is not good for the area as a whole and to Palestinians. If this "21st Century Black September" actually happens, Jordanians and Palestinians will be locked in a new civil war the region simply doesn't need. What's more, Palestinians will lose whatever support they have from the Arab kingdoms as rullers start fearing for their thrown not because of the US, but because of Hamas. This will be very similar to Arafat's mistake during the first gulf war when he supported Saddam over Kuwait; something that cost the Palestinians dearly in terms of aid. Losing their one and only financial supporters for the moment is not something the Palestinians can afford right now, when the financial situation in the PA is worsening on a daily basis.
And so the Palestinians are left with only one logical course of action. They must come to their senses quickly before Hamas takes them into a road from which there is no return; a road that ends with a conflict with Israel for sure, but also with the Arab world and the western world. For if and when Hamas does go along with a new plot, it will take the Palestinians over the edge, making it hard for the them to rebuild the already fragile trust with the Arab kingdoms as Palestinian independence and financial interests and Arab kingdoms' western trade interests grow further and further apart. The only way out of this is to have Hamas make a 180 degree turn that will end violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. It will allow Palestinians to mend fences with the west and recieve much needed aid; it will also allow them to continue towards peace with Israel; and finally it will allow them to reconcile Arab western interests with their own. Peace is the only way out of this deadlock; Hamas as it seems at the moment, is the only way back into it.
israel
middle east
To refresh the minds of those who have forgotten, in September 1970, later known as "Black September" the late Jordanian king Hussein ordered all Palestinian terror groups out of the country following the discovery of a plot organized by the late Yasser Arafat to assasinate the king. Apperantley Arafat believed that since Palestinians at the time comprised 60% of Jordanians, he could easily overcome the king and take power; obviously this was not the case. And so when the plot was discovered all Palestinian organizations were deported to Lebanon in a move that detonated an already voletile situation in the country known as "Switzerland of the Middle East". All this did not prevent the pro-Palestinian group from presenting King Hussein's motivation for this simply as "being influenced by the Zionist entity [a reference to Israel by those who categorically reject its right to exist]" - not a word on the plot. So why is it that I recall of this event today? Because, as I said, of recent news from the Hashemite kingdom.
Al-Jazeera's website reported earlier that Jordan has cancelled a visit by Palestinians Foreign Minister Mahmoud A-Zahr, saying that it is "because members of his Hamas party have been smuggling missiles and other weapons into the kingdom". These are indeed worrisom news which I hope are not true. It is not good for the area as a whole and to Palestinians. If this "21st Century Black September" actually happens, Jordanians and Palestinians will be locked in a new civil war the region simply doesn't need. What's more, Palestinians will lose whatever support they have from the Arab kingdoms as rullers start fearing for their thrown not because of the US, but because of Hamas. This will be very similar to Arafat's mistake during the first gulf war when he supported Saddam over Kuwait; something that cost the Palestinians dearly in terms of aid. Losing their one and only financial supporters for the moment is not something the Palestinians can afford right now, when the financial situation in the PA is worsening on a daily basis.
And so the Palestinians are left with only one logical course of action. They must come to their senses quickly before Hamas takes them into a road from which there is no return; a road that ends with a conflict with Israel for sure, but also with the Arab world and the western world. For if and when Hamas does go along with a new plot, it will take the Palestinians over the edge, making it hard for the them to rebuild the already fragile trust with the Arab kingdoms as Palestinian independence and financial interests and Arab kingdoms' western trade interests grow further and further apart. The only way out of this is to have Hamas make a 180 degree turn that will end violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. It will allow Palestinians to mend fences with the west and recieve much needed aid; it will also allow them to continue towards peace with Israel; and finally it will allow them to reconcile Arab western interests with their own. Peace is the only way out of this deadlock; Hamas as it seems at the moment, is the only way back into it.
israel
middle east
posted by The Middle East News Addict at 10:30 PM
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