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Option of Fatah rule in West Bank is pure Western fantasy and doesn't exist in the real world

Reader comment on item: Jordan at the Precipice

Submitted by G Marcus (United States), Mar 9, 2017 at 08:28

Only power keeping Fatah alive and preventing the West Bank from being overrun by Hamas (just like Gaza) is the Israeli military.

For West-Bank Arabs therefore there appears only three real long-term options to pick from: (a) Hamas rule, (b) Jordanian rule, or (c) the status quo.

Jordan, part of the initial Palestine Mandate, was separated by the British in 1922 to create the original Palestinian-Arab state and is today one of the best functioning and most stable Arab states.

Peace treaty with Egypt provides Israel with a demilitarized Sinai buffer.

If Arabs and other adversaries of Israel alike really wanted peace and co-existence, they would not have invented and nurtured a non-existent "Palestinian" identity, while Jordan already covers nearly 80% of Mandatory Palestine and most Gaza Arabs are indistinguishable from Egypt's Sinai Bedouin.

They would have instead pursued the only logical co-existential and sustainable path, a "3-State Solution" composed of Israel, Egypt, and Jordan:

- Gaza: Under security and political linkage Egypt, needs to be turned into autonomous Arab entity that can prosper as a Singapore/Dubai-like industrial/logistics hub on the Eastern Mediterranean.

- West Bank: In light of more complex geopolitics as well as looming Hamas takeover, parts of West Bank should to be linked to Jordan in some sort of federal structure; safeguarding security and settlements for Israel, demographics for Arabs, holy sites for both.

Egypt and Jordan face no alternative, because they can't allow adjacent Muslim Brotherhood (Hamas) or national-irredentist (Fatah) regimes, respectively.

Any further "Palestinism" or "2-State Solutionism" on narrow sliver, therefore serves only to further inflame conflict, and perpetuate endless bloodshed and suffering on all sides.

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Daniel Pipes replies:

Excellent analysis. But you have not solved the dilemma. I agree that "parts of West Bank should to be linked to Jordan in some sort of federal structure" but what if the Jordanians don't want this link? Then we're back to square one.

Reader comments (22) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1Prince Hamzah, Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, and Bassem Awadallah [127 words]RobertJun 28, 2021 11:32269172
3"Jordan's 2016 constitutional amendments: A return to absolute monarchy?" [121 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
RobertOct 17, 2018 08:07245501
1"It's possible to overthrow Jordan's king" - Rachel Avraham [504 words]RobertOct 22, 2018 07:57245501
2Is Jordan "Czechoslovakia"? [89 words]RobertOct 16, 2018 14:24245484
The solution is simple but the status quo is preferable in Israel [415 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Eyad NusayrApr 3, 2017 20:40238133
Jordan at the Precipice [84 words]Angel Oteros GonzálezApr 2, 2017 15:42238073
Three State Solution [202 words]Michael SMar 22, 2017 06:31237832
Changes of State [267 words]M ToveyMar 28, 2017 18:14237832
Changes of State - Follow On and Continuing [175 words]M ToveyMar 30, 2017 13:41237832
Thwarting the 'Palestinian' Paradigm - Again [244 words]M ToveyApr 12, 2021 14:39237832
The Status quo is not viable. [88 words]David W. LincolnMar 16, 2017 19:27237654
2Context: Nine Eleven, Arab Spring, & Western Populism Under Trump Bannon [1075 words]RobertMar 11, 2017 12:03237501
Jordan needs to take steps to avoid collapse. [116 words]Anne- USAMar 17, 2017 08:24237501
1Option of Fatah rule in West Bank is pure Western fantasy and doesn't exist in the real world [271 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
G MarcusMar 9, 2017 08:28237256
2Any Pal-Arab state in the West Bank would threaten Jordan even more than Israel [167 words]G MarcusMar 15, 2017 08:32237256
The Commuter Plan [183 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
PezDispenserMar 8, 2017 15:24237239
Rejection of the 'Palestinian' Model - Rejecting the Ancient Roman Influences [263 words]M ToveyMar 14, 2017 18:12237239
Had the PLO succeeded in the 70's, would Jordan have become acknowledged as Palestine? [7 words]AnonMar 8, 2017 15:07237238
Jordan at the Precipice [154 words]Judith DaviesMar 8, 2017 14:20237237
The Palestinian State [119 words]Dr. M.J. MarkoffMar 8, 2017 12:00237236
Excellent report, time to see the obvious [165 words]MalcolmMar 8, 2017 11:38237235
The Dire Dilemma of Jordan [216 words]M ToveyMar 8, 2017 11:14237234

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