ABBAS DISCUSSES DEVELOPMENTS WITH JORDANS MONARCH
Amman, 6 Rabi’ul Awwal 1435/8 January 2014 (MINA) – President Mahmoud Abbas met on Wednesday with Jordan’s King Abdullah and discussed latest political developments and bilateral issues.
Both leaders addressed issues related to developing and improving bilateral relations between their two countries in addition to the latest developments in the region and the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Wafa News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting
Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north-west, Syria to the south, Iraq to the south-west, and Israel/Palestine to the east. It has access to the Red Sea via the port city of Aqaba, located at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba.
The demographic factor in Jordan, where over 60 per cent of people are of Palestinian origins, complicates fragile and fluctuating Palestinian–Jordanian relations. Depending on the political context, the Jordanian government has handled the situation by either emphasizing the unity between Palestinians and Jordanians as equal citizens in one nation-state, or privileging a local Transjordanian identity.
The PLO’s political relations with the Jordanian government played an important role in how the Jordanian state represented its own society and nation. During periods of hostility, Transjordan identity was emphasized, and government discourse and policies shifted in its favour.
Over the years, the state has shifted its position in the portrayal of the national image and society: when necessary Jordan becomes the ‘large extended family’ while during other periods of crisis the public media begins to produce images of Jordan as the small tribe.
The national differences between Jordanians and Palestinians, however, fluctuate according to larger political processes and dynamics. At the heart of political turmoil in the region and particularly in Jordan, the country with the largest number of registered refugees, is the Right of Return.
Since their expulsion in 1948 Israel has denied Palestinians the right to return to their homes and lands, which means that while they may want to improve their social and economic lives, they often do not want to be viewed as having acquiesced to schemes that aim at their integration. (T/P012/P04).
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
