Jordan Rep Expresses Apartheid/Racist Views

Jordan will continue to honour its commitments towards holy places in Jerusalem we have been informed by Jordanian House Speaker Atef Tarawneh today, speaking in Kuwait at the 20th conference of the Inter-Arab Parliamentary Union.

"Holy Places", he said?

Let's be specific:-

Jordan will continue to honour its historical commitments towards protecting the Islamic and Christian holy places in Jerusalem.

What happened to the Jewish sites?

Remember that March 2014 agreement?

Tarawneh said that the agreement, which was signed by His Majesty King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, reaffirmed the status of His Majesty King Abdullah as the custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem and was aimed at exerting all legal efforts to protect the holy places in Jerusalem in general and the al-Aqsa Mosque in particular.

Are there no Jewish holy places in the city?

Of course there are and they are adjacent to and contiguous with Islanic sites: the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.

Tarawneh spoke about "the Israeli attempts to Judaize and change the identity of Jerusalem" and "highlighted the Israeli violations against the holy shrines in Jerusalem, noting that these violations send a clear message that any peace agreement would remain threatened by Israel" and added, "Jordan always takes stances towards these violations, through available legal channels".

But there's more:

The key to Arab-Israeli comprehensive peace lies in implementing the two-state solution, under which an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state is established within the June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem its capital...we in Jordan believe that implementing the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state within June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital constitute a higher interest for Jordan...

...Regarding East Jerusalem, His Majesty King Abdullah II is taking care of the maintenance and protection of the Christian and Islamic holy sites there, as part of the historical Hashemite custodianship of East Jerusalem. We will continue to play this role and addressing all Israeli violations, which continue to defy several resolutions issued by the UN Security Council that stipulate that all Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem are null and void and should be halted immediately, and that the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem must end.

Those were the words spoken in New York of Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs, Nasser Judeh, on Monday, who chaired a United Nations Security Council's open debate on various Middle East issues.

He, too, is an apartheidist, even a racist.  Jordan doesn't recognize Jewish holy sites in the city, it would appear and even if they did exist, the King, in his custodianal role, wouldn't care for them.

No suprise, really, after his grandfather's father's record of destroying almost 40,000 Jewish graves on the Mount of Olives prior to 1967 and all but one of the 35 synagogues in the Old City were destroyed, either razed or used as stables and chicken coops.

Is this the man and the position with who Mr. Netanyahu discusses peace?

By the way, at the UN, this also was said by Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson at the opening of 2014 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People:-

...Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are working hard towards a peaceful, comprehensive settlement of all permanent status issues...It means accepting Jerusalem as the capital of the two States, with arrangements for Holy Sites acceptable to all. 

Eppes.

__________

P.S.

As for fulfilling terms of treaties, cease-fire agreements, etc., let's not forget the experience:

In direct contravention of the 1949 armistice agreements, Jordan did not permit Jews access to their holy sites or to the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
Article VIII of the Israel Jordan Armistice Agreement (April 3, 1949) established a special committee which would “direct its attention to the formulation of agreed plans and arrangements” including “free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives.” Nevertheless, and despite numerous requests by Israeli officials and Jewish groups to the UN, the U.S., and others to attempt to enforce the armistice agreement, Jews were denied access to the Western Wall, the Jewish cemetery and all religious sites in eastern Jerusalem. The armistice lines were sealed as Jordanian snipers would perch on the walls of the Old City and shoot at Israelis across the lines.

And in reviewing what I wrote above, it may not be clear to some readers what my 'problem' is as some may assume that of course Jordan will not be "in charge" of any Jewish site so why get upset.

Briefly, I believe Netanyahu does not really want a "Palestinian" state and so seeks to have Jordan in on any agreement.  The political rights of local Arab residents west of the Jordan River will find their expression via Jordan with an improved Begin-autonomy plan. That in itself is an improvement over the Pal. Authority monster but the price will be official Jordanian administration of the Temple Mount (i.e., foreign sovereignty) and then for sure no Jewish identity will be permitted there (it will become extra-territorial), expression that will be less than today probably. That's a price I feel we do not have to fork over.

As I noted above, if now Jordanian spokespersons ignore any Jewish character of a holy site that is conterminous, as is the Temple Mount and its Western supporting wall, with a Muslim site, then we cannot expect Jewish expressions there, whether religious, spiritual or cultural.  And, perhaps, given Jordan's record, even worse.  Instead of Islamic rocks and firebombs thrown at Jews, bullets could be fired next.

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