A strange statement from Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister, whom western media routinely call "far right" or simply "fascist":
"Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that the claim that Jordan is the Palestinian state is not based in reality and those who push such a view do so at the detriment of Israeli interests.
Speaking at a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting, Lieberman added that the claim that Jordan is Palestine contradicts international law and the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement."
On the one hand, the Lieberman's statement contradicts the well-known demographic reality - according to Wikipedia there are 2,700,000 Palestinian people living in Jordan, whose total population is about 6,400,000. This number is greater than the number of Palestinians living either in the West Bank (2,345,000) or in Gaza (1,416,000). While this number is not enough to claim that Jordan is the fulfillment fo the Palestinian aspirations for a statehood, it is sufficient to make it impossible for the Palestinian problem to be truly resolved outside of the Jordanian borders.
On the other hand, the good relations between Israel and Jordan require that the Israeli government join the game with King Abdullah and the Western powers in pretending that the solution of the Palestinian problem can be achieved at the expense of Israel only.
The fact that it is Lieberman, who is being so diplomatic, is amusing, but not totally ridiculous - being the head of the third largest political party, he may be trying to position himself as a serious statesman... he would definitely need to look more serious the day when he takes a shot at becoming the prime minister.
No comments:
Post a Comment