Gaza Palestinans in Jordan Today

Submitted by Robert (United States), Dec 19, 2021 at 10:13

Unfortunately (for the issues involved) I'm not a systematic student of Islam and the Middle East. Therefor I only discovered the issue of Jordan's (Gaza) Palestinian problem very recently.

On the one hand we read that Jordan had granted Palestinians citizenship after conquering the West Bank. On the other hand we read that Palestinians in Jordan lack Jordanian citizenship.

As it turns out, those who resided in the West Bank were granted Citizenship; but not those Palestinians who hail from Gaza. The Demographics of Jordan are critical in any attempted Strategy for an Israeli Victory.

One out-of-the-box strategy would be to pressure Jordan and Egypt to solve the problem of Palestinian Refugees within their own jurisdictions since they themselves are the cause of the problem because they administered these Territories (Gaza and the West Bank) after their Conquests until Peace with Israel was executed by Egypt and Jordan.

So, Israel should force Diplomatically, to have this issue resolved: (1) Screened by Jordan and Egypt, Jordanian Gaza Refugees should be financed and empowered to Develop their Homeland, Gaza, without empowering Hamas or Islamic Jihad - that may therefore require the participation of Abbas and his PA, PLO, and Fatah.

I hope you see where I'm going with this in the complex environment of the Middle East? The Strategy I advocate is for Israel to lead the solution of the Palestinian Refugees. And the "front line" on this (or beginning) is the Gaza Refugees in Jordan who are effectively stateless those the youngest were born in Jordan (which used to be Palestine). These Palestine refugees (who hail from Gaza) have no Civil Rights which they lost as a consequence of Britain administration of the Palestine Mandate. Even though Jordan is a sovereign state now, Jordan was carved out of Palestine under Article 25 of the Palestine Mandate and these are the victims of this act of excluding Jews from East Palestine (Trandjordan, now known as Jordan).

In other words, Israel is in a unique position to take on the "high road" - it should, as a matter of Strategy lead the way in solving the Gaza Refugee problem, especially in the context of the Abraham Accords, which means that everyone else must (primarily) finance this enterprise.

You often advocate a (Truck Driver) Victory for Israel. But Israel essentially has only 3 or 4 military enemies: Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas (and Islamic Jihad). Victory in this context only suggests going to war against these force. But if one thinks-out-of-the-box, the Strategy accordingly involves non-military Tactics such as Diplomacy and Economics regarding the so-called Palestinian Refugee whose status as such is maintained by the UN in the hope that in the future everyone will return to Palestine, meaning Israel substantially.

Dear Dr. Daniel Pipes, I wish you would abandon your Truck Driver Hat (or Helmet) in this Strategic Issue and put on your Harvard graduation attire and think non-militarily on how to solve the Palestine Refuge Question (or Problem). Maybe, if I remind of Marx and his writing on the Jewish Question you will see where I'm going. Marx developed his Communist Strategy early in part by trying to address the issue of Anti-Semitism in the "new country" of Germany way back in the middle of the 19thy century. The Palestinians that have not become Israeli citizens in the context of Muslim and Arab and Soviet Rejectionism are now the Pawns who are this victims. Israel is continuously Victorious since 1917 thru 1948 and to today. And now comes the problem of Peace. Demographics tells us that 21% of Israelis are former Palestinian Arabs who are Citizens of Israel. Citizenship is a Political Right, not a Civil Right or a Religious Right. In the Palestine Mandate only Jews were recognized as having Political Rights to Reconstitute themselves in Palestine. That Political Reconstitution occurred in 1948 when Israel Declared its Independence. Israel was NOT created by the General Assembly voting. That vote was merely recognition of the world. Countries assert their sovereignty from within, not from the outside.

A consequence of depriving Israel - though wars against it - of total sovereignty over all of Mandatory Palestine, or prior Southern Syria, is that the Warring Parties are responsible for depriving non-Jewish Palestinians of their Political Rights, and consequent Civil Rights. Without Political Rights there is no Soverign Power to Protect Civil Rights.

Precisely because Israel is the Military Victor, it is in a good position to Strategically Advocate for the Political Rights of Palestinians who lost those rights because of Military Victories by Israel since at least 1948.

I am not replacing Strategy with Advocacy. I'm now going to remind you that after Victory in the World War (the 1st), the Victorious allies sat down to execute Peace Treaties. Accordingly, Israel should focus on the issue of Palestinian Citizenship everywhere outside its Military Control. And the best place to start is in Jordan and the "Gazans" of Jordan - in the way I suggested above. Again, if you recognize Israel's Military Victory, you must move to a Peace Treaty, which naturally comes next.

Actually, we may agree because you did "advocate" something like Gaza to Egypt and the West Bank to Jordan. But the Strategic issue should not be Land, but People. And so the immediate Question should be what role should Egypt and Jordan play in the disposition of the the Civil and/or Political rights of the unfortunate Palestinians in Jordan who only hold a Gaza identity card? This is a Strategic Question - it is not Advocacy for a cause. It is a Question of Peace Terms which comes after a Military Victory.

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