By Rachel Avraham
For many years, Jordan has been perceived in the West by many as an island of stability in a volatile region. While Syria and Iraq were overrun by ISIS and Iran, the Hashemite monarchy managed to maintain its independence and its peace treaty with the State of Israel. However, over the weekend, former Crown Prince Hamza Bin Hussein challenged the status quo amid reports of an attempted coup.
Nevertheless, it appears that this coup attempt has failed. MK Ayoob Kara proclaimed in a recent Facebook post following this coup attempt in Jordan, “In conversations conducted with senior level officials in the Hashemite Kingdom, I was told that Jordan is under the strict control of the king and no one can challenge that, including within the Hashemite family.”
“I congratulate King Abdullah on thwarting the coup attempt against him,” he added. “It is very important to continue the reign of the king of Jordan, who continues the policies pursued by his late father related to security cooperation with the Jewish state. Jordan maintains the longest border with the State of Israel, which extends 250 kilometers from Eilat to the Golan Heights.”
Prominent Middle East scholar Dr. Mordechai Kedar begged to differ in an interview with Arutz Sheva: ““I personally think the peace with Jordan is not an asset for Israel, because the king, Abdullah II, calls on the world to help establish a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria and let Israel deal with the problem of a Palestinian state, which could become a terrorist state. He doesn’t care about that. He knows that if there won’t be a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, there could be one in Jordan as an alternative homeland as some Palestinians call to do.”
However, the State of Israel remains loyal to the peace treaty with Jordan in Kedar’s view because the Hashemites serve as a buffer between Israel and Iran and safeguard our border from terrorism. For this reason, MK Kara supports the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan: “There are difficult claims made today in Israel surrounding the king and his attitude towards the Jewish state, but I have zero doubt that these issues will resolve themselves very soon.”
