Jordan's king sees Israel losing as result of Arab uprisings

Monsters and Critics

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II said Sunday that Israel was emerging the loser as a result of the Arab Spring.

'Jordan and the future of Palestine is today stronger than Israel and the Israelis are the party which should harbour fears,' the monarch told a group of Jordanian intellectuals and academics with whom he met at the royal palace.

'During my recent visit to the United States, an Israeli intellectual told me that Israel stands to benefit from what is going on in Arab countries. I replied that the opposite is correct because Israel's standing is becoming more difficult than before,' he added.

King Abdullah made the remarks as he sought to dampen fears voiced by some Jordanians who warned that the adoption of political reforms in the country would enable Jordanians of Palestinian origin to obtain a majority in parliament and, consequently, facilitate schemes by Israeli extremist politicians who see Jordan as 'alternative homeland' for Palestinians.

Those Jordanians, who mainly belonged to East Bank tribal gatherings, also contended that the United States supported the Israeli machinations which envisage Jordan as homeland for Palestinians instead of the setting up of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

'When I was on visits to the United States, I did not feel any pressure from any American official, be (it) Clinton, Bush or Obama, toward solving the Palestinian cause at Jordan's expense,' he said.

'Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine and the alternative homeland concept should not be part of the discussion, because we are determined to protect the future of Palestine by backing the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and to defend Jerusalem and the right of return' of Palestinian refugees, he added.

King Abdullah vowed to carry on with political reforms, saying the parliament would endorse the proposed constitutional amendments within two weeks.