Jordan heating up

By WND Staff

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The latest Israeli military offensive has triggered mounting protests in neighboring Arab states, the most vocal and most volatile of which is in Jordan.

At the University of Jordan, riot police wielded batons to break up a demonstration of 500 angry students calling for the government to cut its ties with Israel and open its borders to anti-Israeli fighters. Some 3,000 people also gathered recently in the city of Zarqa, about 16 miles northeast of the capital, Amman, to protest the Israeli actions, the Jerusalem Post reported today.

Jordan’s government is walking a tightrope between domestic security and continued political ties with Israel. Its ability to retain control will become more tenuous as the Israeli campaign continues. In the coming weeks, Jordan may become a hot spot of political unrest and security crackdowns.

Because Palestinian refugees and expatriates account for at least half of Jordan’s 5 million people, the country is particularly sensitive to events in Israel. However, Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, and its economy is closely – though unofficially – tied to the Jewish state. It also receives substantial economic enticements from the United States for its continued friendly relations with Israel. Growing domestic unrest, however, will make such cooperation more difficult.

Recent reports suggest the Jordanian monarchy is considering several measures, including reducing the Israeli Embassy staff or downgrading its own embassy in Tel Aviv, to protest Israeli military actions in the West Bank. Amman has denied the reports, but the issue of political relations with Israel remains explosive in Jordan.

The potential for opponents of the Jordanian monarchy to exploit unrest is real and growing. On April 1, a group calling itself the Jordanian Free Officers – harkening back to the Egyptian Free Officers movement led by Gamal Nasser, which overthrew King Farouk in 1952 – threatened to launch missiles against Israeli cities if Israel did not end its campaign in the West Bank. No evidence has surfaced that such a group even exists, much less that it has the missiles to attack Israel. But reviving Nasser’s ghost at such a tense moment will certainly add to the Jordanian government’s tension.

The government is now stepping up security around Palestinian refugee camps and crossing stations along the border with Israel. Jordan also raised the state of alert for police and military forces, Qatari TV network Al-Jazeera reported April 2. The measures are intended to dam up a potential groundswell of opposition before events in Israel can open the floodgates.

Attempting to keep a lid on unrest, however, has its own brand of danger. Stifling the protests will cause frustration to build, and cracking down could stoke the already hot coals of a politically volatile situation.


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