Jordan politicians expect tensions with Israel to escalate

Jordanian politicians expect tensions between Amman and Israel to escalate after they reached a “dead end”, Quds Press reported.

Jordanian writer and political analyst, Samir Al-Hiyari, told the news site that the Israeli government is withholding water from Jordan, although it was not done officially, and this indicates the depth of the dispute between Amman and Tel Aviv.

He explained that the kingdom’s position on the war on Gaza is clear and does not please Israel and therefore the recent period has seen an escalation in anti- Jordanian rhetoric.

He pointed out that despite Amman signing a peace agreement with Israel, the official and popular positions are united in rejecting the aggression against Gaza and the occupation.

Writer and political analyst Helmy Al-Asmar added: “What the [Israeli] occupation is doing against Jordan confirms the position of those who spoke of the necessity of severing the relationship with the Israeli occupation… The Zionist enemy is an enemy that is greedy for our land, and plots against us day and night.”

He pointed out that the Wadi Araba peace agreement has been shelved, and many of its provisions have not been implemented, explaining that the clauses which have been implemented are the ones that only benefit Tel Aviv.

“Today, the [Israeli] occupation threatens to cut off water from Jordan, while this water according to the agreement is Jordanian water, sold to Jordan,” he added.

The former Deputy Prime Minister, Marwan Muasher, has recently said the return of the Jordanian-Israeli relationship to pre-7 October levels has become “impossible”.

For weeks, Jordanian cities have witnessed massive demonstrations denouncing Israel’s violations, aggression and massacres in the Gaza Strip, with people demanding King Abdullah II sever the peace agreement signed with Israel unless it ends its aggression on Gaza.

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