Palestinian Authority officials confirmed Thursday that they were studying the possibility of establishing a confederation with Jordan, but stressed that this would take place only after the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines.
The officials were commenting on a report in the London-based Al-Quds al- Arabi newspaper that claimed that PA President Mahmoud Abbas had asked senior Fatah leaders to prepare for the formation of a confederation between a Palestinian state and Jordan.
The newspaper said that Abbas has instructed his advisors to provide him with "detailed strategic reports about the best way to conduct negotiations with Jordan about reviving the confederation plan."
Abbas reportedly met with seven top Fatah and PA figures and discussed with them the idea, the report said, adding that the PA president had asked that the meeting remain confidential.
The report quoted an informed Palestinian source as saying that Abbas told participants that the confederation plan would come soon "and we must be prepared for it."
Jordan and the PA are scheduled to launch talks on their future relations on February 21, the report revealed.
On Saturday, the Fatah Central Committee is expected to discuss the confederation plan during a meeting in Ramallah, according to the source.
Jordanian politicians quoted Abbas as saying that the Palestinian state would not be able to survive without forging a confederation with Jordan.
Abbas hinted that he discussed the idea with Jordan's King Abdullah, when the latter visited Ramallah earlier this week.
Abbas's rapprochement with Jordan is the result of a Saudi-Qatari-Turkish alliance that backs Hamas and ignores the PA, the politicians noted.
Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, said in response that the confederation idea would be discussed only after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Abu Rudaineh said that the idea was first discussed in 1988 and the two sides agreed that when a Palestinian state is established this option would be on the table.
He said that any decision taken by the PA leadership would be brought before the Palestinians for approval through a referendum.
PLO Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Yusef said that the confederation plan was just a "study" during the current phase.
Abu Yusef said that any talk about the confederation plan now would hinder efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines "because Israel is hoping that a Palestinian state would be part of Jordan."
Any confederation would be announced only after a Palestinian state is established, he added.
"What is happening now is only a discussion and a study about future options of a Palestinian state."
Diplomatic sources would not comment on the report.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/talk-of-palestinian-jordanian-confederation-irks-observers-on-both-sides-of-the-river/
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/confederate-palestine.html
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/12/palestinian-confederation-jordan-disaster.html
http://www.haaretz.co.il/literature/prose/1.1848242
אז מה הפתרון? מדינה אחת? הערבים יהפכו בה לרוב וידכאו את המיעוט היהודי. שתי מדינות? המדינה הערבית תשמיד את המדינה היהודית. המסקנה ההגיונית היא שאין פתרון - וזוהי אכן סיסמת הדגל של הימין הציוני בימינו.
אבל מוריס לא מרגיש בנוח עם מסקנה זו. לכן, כאילו ברגע האחרון, הוא מדביק לספר, ממש בשני העמודים האחרונים, פתרון הזוי: שהגדה המערבית תצורף לירדן באיזושהי פדרציה, וכך ניפטר מכל העניין. "האופציה הירדנית" הנשכחת, שהומצאה אך ורק כדי לקבור את הבעיה הפלסטינית, חוזרת בדלת האחורית.
אילו בילה מוריס - ולו שבוע אחד - בירדן, היה יודע שזה פתרון מגוחך. יש ישות ירדנית, והיא לא חולמת להתאחד עם הפלסטינים. למעשה, אין רעיון המטיל על הירדנים אימה גדולה יותר. בוטרוס בוטרוס ראלי, המצרי הקופטי שהיה שר החוץ בפועל של מצרים ואחר כך מזכיר האו"ם, אמר לי פעם: "המומחים הישראלים לעניינים ערביים הם הטובים בעולם. הם קראו את כל הספרים, המאמרים והנאומים. הם יודעים את הכל - ולא מבינים כלום".
http://on-the-left-side.org.il/?p=1916
http://www.amalnet.k12.il/meida/history2/hisi3053.htm#5
http://www.news1.co.il/Archive/003-D-42816-00.html?tag=15-22-07
http://www.herzliyaconference.org/?CategoryID=228&ArticleID=1683
http://social.huji.ac.il/content/newsletter/may07/Asaf_David.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peres%E2%80%93Hussein_London_Agreement
http://www.archives.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/DDEDC327-51E0-45E3-BABC-ACB0605609CA/0/shamir07aENG.pdf
http://www.archives.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/D3BE2327-CBDC-4710-B505-0155C57DB161/0/shamir07a.pdf
http://m.ynet.co.il/Article.aspx?id=3894644
http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/086/671.html
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/2012/11/fatah-official-oslo-dead-after-un-vote.html
http://www.israelhayom.co.il/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=7083&newsletter=23.09.2011
http://jordantimes.com/jordan-palestine-sign-free-trade-agreement
Jordanian and Palestinian officials held talks on Thursday, during which a number of agreements were signed.
The most prominent of these was a free trade agreement, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh and his Palestinian counterpart Salam Fayyad announced the agreements at a joint press conference in Ramallah.
Tarawneh was in Ramallah on a short visit to take part in the third session of the Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee.
Formed in the 1990s, the panel held its second session in 1998 when Tarawneh's first government was in office.
The prime minister also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the committee meeting.
Talks covered the "deep-rooted ties" between Jordan and Palestine, in addition to Jordan's keenness on building on the current relations to benefit both sides.
At the press conference, Tarawneh reiterated Jordan's support for the Palestinian Authority and people, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on its own land, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
But the premier said the trade volume between Jordan and Palestine remains "below aspirations", standing at around JD75 million in 2011 and called for resolving the "technical difficulties" to increase trade levels.
He also called for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and for a two-state solution that is entrenched within a regional context that would achieve peace and stability in the region.
The prime minister said the Kingdom will continue to support the Palestinians politically and help them confront Israel's attempts to Judaise Jerusalem.
He emphasised Jordan's role in preserving Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem.
Tarawneh also conveyed His Majesty King Abdullah's greetings to the Palestinian president, government and people.
Also at the press conference, Fayyad said emphasis should be placed on the difficult financial situation of the Palestinian Authority under the Israeli occupation.
He reiterated that Palestinians will not be swayed from their cause of establishing their own independent state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Lebanese Writer Farid Salman: Jordan and West Bank Should Become Palestinian State
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/2012/10/some-jordanians-still-claim-west-bank.html
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=289948
Farouk Kaddoumi, a veteran PLO official, dropped a political bombshell Wednesday with a call for "returning" the West Bank to Jordan.
Kaddoumi, who is based in Tunisia, said he supported the idea of a federation or confederation between the West Bank and Jordan. His remarks, which came during an interview with the London-based Al- Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, are the first of their kind to be voiced by a senior PLO figure in decades.
Kaddoumi is one of the founders of Fatah, and for decades served as head of the PLO's "political department." He is one of the few PLO leaders who refused to move from Tunisia to the Palestinian territories after the signing of the Oslo Accords, which he had strongly opposed.
Kaddoumi told the newspaper, during an interview in his office in the Tunisian capital, that giving the West Bank back to Jordan would be a "positive move." He added, nevertheless, that the Palestinians should not drop their demand for a right to return to Israel proper.
"We launched our revolution for all of Palestine, and that's why we need to be very cautious," Kaddoumi said.
"We must safeguard our people's right to return," he stressed. "We must insist on the right of return for all refugees, because this is the minimum that we could accept."
Kaddoumi launched a scathing attack on the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, for abandoning the armed struggle against Israel and failing the Palestinian people.
"Undoubtedly, the Palestinian Authority has reached a dead end," he stated, adding that the peace process had failed because Israel was seeking to dictate its terms and conditions to the Palestinians.
Referring to economic hardships in the West Bank, Kaddoumi said that Palestinians' lives had become a tragedy due to "widespread starvation and harsh conditions." He also said the Palestinians had lost hope of reaching an agreement with Israel that would ensure them their minimal rights.
"Unfortunately, Israel has seized most of the lands of the West Bank and the only way left for us is the national resistance," he said. "Regrettably, the Palestinian Authority and its president do not want any kind of resistance after they got rid of the fighters who say that resistance is the only want to liberate the land."
He acknowledged that Fatah had been weakened due to its failure to reform and return to the path of armed struggle. He also slammed Abbas for "cutting my salary." The PA president made the decision several years ago following harsh criticism against him by Kaddoumi.
He also scoffed at Abbas's renewed statehood bid at the United Nations, saying the PLO had obtained membership in the international organization in 1974. In addition, he noted that the UN had recognized the Palestinian state declared by Yasser Arafat in 1988, adding that 105 countries had since lent their own recognition.
"By going back to the UN, Abbas is falsely creating the impression that he is making achievements that were already achieved," he said.
Kaddoumi's remarks about returning the West Bank to Jordan apparently came in response to recent statements made by Jordan's Prince Hassan bin Talal, who served as crown prince between 1965 and 1999.
At a meeting with Palestinians in Amman, the prince said the territories of the West Bank were actually part of the Hashemite Kingdom. He added that the two-state solution was now irrelevant.
Jordan officially renounced its claim to the West Bank in 1988 when the late King Hussein announced his kingdom was cutting off its administrative and legal ties to the area.