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U.S. Ambassador praises Jordan's role in Sweida's ceasefire

U.S. Ambassador praises Jordan's role in Sweida's ceasefire

Ammon2 days ago
Ammon News -
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrac, expressed his gratitude for the partnership of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, in implementing the ceasefire in Sweida, Syria
In a post on his official X account, Barrac said: "The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan plays a critical leadership role in the region, and we are making positive steps to support a unified, stable Syria at peace with its neighbors, including our Jordanian allies."
Grateful for the partnership of FM @AymanHsafadi today as we operationalize the ceasefire in Suwayda. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan plays a critical leadership role in the region, and we are making positive steps to support a unified, stable Syria at peace with its neighbors,… pic.twitter.com/HdeXN6MGeD
— Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) July 19, 2025
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Analysis: The end of the two-state illusion: West Bank is gone, Jordan is in the firing line
Analysis: The end of the two-state illusion: West Bank is gone, Jordan is in the firing line

Ammon

time15 minutes ago

  • Ammon

Analysis: The end of the two-state illusion: West Bank is gone, Jordan is in the firing line

Ammon News - Analysis - Successive Israeli governments, whether Labor, Likud, or their extremist coalitions today, have never viewed the West Bank as occupied land. Within the Zionist project, it is not a disputed territory but a divine entitlement – 'Judea and Samaria,' core to the mythology of Eretz Israel. The Israeli presence there is not a military necessity or a negotiating chip. It is the bedrock of a colonial vision that treats Palestinian sovereignty as a threat to be dismantled, not a right to be recognized. 'Creeping annexation' Today, the occupation state is executing the most aggressive stage of this project through silent, sustained annexation. Without declaring it formally to avoid diplomatic fallout while the genocide continues in Gaza, Tel Aviv is redrawing maps on the ground. It is expanding settlements at an unprecedented pace, building bypass roads exclusively for Jewish settlers, and entrenching the architecture of apartheid across Area C, which is the largest segment in the occupied West Bank, comprising over 60 percent of the territory. Israeli military control, sanctioned by the 1993 Oslo Accords, is being leveraged to achieve full territorial domination. The occupation state exploited its 13 June military assault on Iran to escalate its chokehold on the occupied West Bank by erecting new checkpoints, blocking access to Palestinian villages and towns, intensifying daily raids and mass arrests, and severely restricting the daily life of some 3.2 million Palestinians. A systematic destruction of infrastructure in refugee camps has displaced at least 40,000 Palestinians in recent months – a slow, quiet ethnic cleansing unfolding beneath the fog of war. These tactics are reinforced by an Israeli cabinet decision on 11 May to initiate widespread land registration in Area C. While not officially labelled a 'Regularization Law,' the 'land settlement process' mirrors the intent and structure of the 2017 legislation by legalizing settler outposts and formalizing the theft of Palestinian land. The revived effort gives the occupation state sweeping authority to expropriate land and deepen its hold over occupied territory under the guise of bureaucratic order. In parallel, Israeli authorities moved to revive the long-stalled E1 settlement plan near occupied East Jerusalem, which includes the construction of 3,412 settler housing units. The plan would cut off occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank and forcibly displace Bedouin communities like Khan al-Ahmar. In late May, the Israeli cabinet also approved the establishment of 22 new illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank and retroactively legalized several existing settlement outposts. This reinforces the apartheid architecture stretching from Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley. The goal is not a secret – to reshape the map in ways that render a future Palestinian state geographically and politically unviable. It is the creation of a West Bank with no Palestinian sovereignty, no territorial contiguity, and no future state. Under this plan, compliant Palestinian Authority (PA) will govern civil affairs under the boot of Israeli military control, a Potemkin authority with no power, no land, and no dignity. Jordan faces the heat In the face of these developments, Jordan is perhaps the most concerned neighboring state. The Hashemite Kingdom shares deep historical, geographic, and societal ties with the occupied West Bank, particularly during the period of union from 1948 to 1967. This history grants Amman special sensitivity to changes across the Jordan River. Yet what raises alarm is the absence of a serious, clear, and direct Jordanian position on the growing threat of Israeli control over the occupied West Bank. Official statements remain limited to generic diplomatic objections, lacking any firm deterrent policy or strategic mobilization. The Hashemite Kingdom has long feared being forced into playing the role of a 'substitute homeland' for Palestinians. Ideas like the 'Alternative Homeland' and confederation – which aim to shift the Palestinian issue onto Jordanian soil – are not new. They have resurfaced cyclically since the 1970s, but today they appear increasingly structured as an alternative path to liquidate the Palestinian cause. More than half of Jordan's population is made up of Palestinian refugees and citizens of Palestinian descent, with deep familial and national ties to the occupied West Bank. Any attempt to dissolve the two-state formula without a sovereign Palestinian alternative risks turning Jordan into a demographic pressure valve. It would trigger unrest, displace new waves of Palestinians, and unravel the fragile equilibrium within the kingdom. Jordanian officials have consistently warned that forced transfers of Palestinians would be considered acts of war. Their concern is not hypothetical. Israeli lawmakers have repeatedly promoted variations of the 'Jordan is Palestine' plan, where West Bank Palestinians would either be displaced or ruled by Jordan through an Israeli and western-imposed confederation that absolves Israel of all responsibility. The 'Jordanian–Palestinian Confederation' aims to assign Jordan the role of administrating the remnants of the Palestinian population, following Israel's completion of territorial control. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear his strategy: Palestinians may receive administrative authority, but not territorial sovereignty. He seeks to preserve Israeli control under a veneer of delegated power, turning any Palestinian 'authority' into a fig leaf for continued domination. In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu made a telling statement: 'We aspire to give the Palestinians authority, not land.' The confederation trap This is why Amman views the confederation proposal as a strategic trap. Without the establishment of a truly independent Palestinian state, any form of administrative arrangement serves as a smokescreen for annexation. The real objective is to outsource the management of Palestinians to Jordan until Israel can complete its demographic re-engineering of historic Palestine. Proponents of this plan believe regional conditions are more favorable than ever. Since US President Donald Trump's first term in office in 2017, several Arab League states have normalized relations with Israel as part of the 2020 'Abraham Accords.' This is despite longstanding treaty violations, including Israel's repeated breaches of the 1994 Wadi Araba peace agreement with Jordan, one of the first Arab states to formalize relations with the occupation state. Others, including Saudi Arabia, are reportedly nearing similar agreements. After the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's government, Syria – now ruled by ex-Al-Qaeda chief Ahmad al-Sharaa – is also being groomed to join this 'Abraham Alliance.' Elements of this scheme can already be found in US President Donald Trump's 2020 so-called 'Deal of the Century' peace plan and in a 2020 Saudi initiative for a 'Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine,' allegedly endorsed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS). Diplomacy buried under bulldozers With Washington's political posture shifting, the collapse of the two-state formula has gone from possibility to policy. Trump has made clear that he intends to discard Palestinian statehood altogether. His State Department has refused to endorse the two-state solution, and in February, Trump declared, 'The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,' in reference to his post-war Gaza Riviera plan. Even UN Security Council Resolution 2735, drafted by former US president Joe Biden's administration and adopted in June 2024, now rings hollow. It calls for two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace. But Israel's ongoing annexation makes this vision impossible. Tel Aviv is burying the resolution in the same ground it paves for Zionist settlers. Jordan, which rushed to Israel's defense during the three direct Iran–Israel military engagements, is no longer on the sidelines – it is now directly threatened by the occupation state's expansionist ambitions. As Tel Aviv accelerates its efforts to erase the Palestinian cause, Amman finds itself cornered – pressured by Washington's apathy, surrounded by Arab states deepening ties with Israel, and bound to a peace treaty that no longer offers even the pretense of balance. The PA, once Washington's preferred administrator for Palestinian affairs, is collapsing under the weight of its own irrelevance. It commands no land, wields no authority, and retains little popular legitimacy. If it disintegrates entirely, Jordan will be the first to feel the impact. The Hashemite monarchy faces a moment of real historic peril. To avoid being conscripted into managing Israel's occupation by proxy, Amman must break decisively from failed formulas and build a coherent, collective Arab-Palestinian front. Without this, Jordan risks being swept into a new regional order in which it becomes both the buffer and the scapegoat for the final burial of Palestinian statehood.

13 Investors Granted Jordanian Citizenship in Q2 2025 - Jordan News
13 Investors Granted Jordanian Citizenship in Q2 2025 - Jordan News

Jordan News

timean hour ago

  • Jordan News

13 Investors Granted Jordanian Citizenship in Q2 2025 - Jordan News

Minister of Government Communications and official spokesperson for the government, Mohammad Al-Momani, announced that 13 investors were granted Jordanian citizenship during the second quarter of 2025. اضافة اعلان In comparison, 17 investors had obtained citizenship in the first quarter, with a total investment value of around 32 million dinars, generating approximately 600 job opportunities for Jordanians. Minister of Investment, Muthanna Gharaibeh, stated that since 2018, a total of 561 investors have been granted Jordanian citizenship, noting that Syrian and Iraqi investors top the list of recipients. He explained that recent amendments to the regulations governing the granting of citizenship to investors aim to increase job opportunities and enhance the value added to the Jordanian economy. Gharaibeh also noted that the investment encouragement decision will stimulate stock market activity without causing inflation in the Amman Stock Exchange, adding that the move will energize the financial market in Amman. During a session held on Wednesday, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Jaafar Hassan, the Cabinet approved new criteria for granting Jordanian citizenship or residency through investment, based on recommendations by the special investors committee. Under the new regulations, investors or non-investors may be granted a five-year residency — or have their existing residency renewed — regardless of their previous duration of stay in the Kingdom, provided they purchase real estate from a licensed developer valued at no less than 200,000 dinars (based on the Department of Land and Survey's appraisal), retain the property for at least five years without selling or mortgaging it, and receive a recommendation from the investors committee at the Ministry of Interior. For residency renewal, the applicant must still own the same property or a new one of equal value. After being reviewed by the technical committee, the application is forwarded directly to the Minister of Interior's delegate at the investment window, without requiring the property to be held in escrow.

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