The Jordan ‘Israel’ Peace Deal
On October 26, 1994, at the border crossing of Wadi Araba (“Araba Valley”) between Jordan and occupied Palestine, the governments of Jordan and the Zionist entity formally signed their peace accord. The signatories included then Jordanian Prime Minister Abdelsalam al-Majali as well as “Israeli” Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, with United States President Bill Clinton present as the presiding witness. This event marked Jordan as the second Arab country (after Egypt in 1979) to officially normalize relations with the Zionist entity.
The treaty served several purposes, one being an end to the war between Jordan and “Israel,” which had been ongoing since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and the establishment of official diplomatic relations and recognition between Jordan and the Zionist entity. The treaty also delineated the international boundary between Jordan and “Israel” from the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers through the Dead Sea, Wadi Araba, and the Gulf of Aqaba. In addition to this, the treaty established agreements on the allocations and joint management of shared waters, particularly the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers. Above all, this treaty marked another step in the traitorous path of Arab complicity, normalization, and participation in the Zionist entity’s occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people and land.
Most Arab countries today have officially recognized “Israel” as a state and normalized diplomatic relations. These neocolonial regimes, which have been propped up to protect Western and Zionist imperial interests in the region, do not truly represent the popular will of their people. The Zionist project has persisted in large part because of these repressive regimes and because of the fragmentation of Arab societies through the Sykes-Picot order. However, the repressive and corrupt nature of these governments, while a source of real strife and hardship for their people, do not absolve the Arab and Muslim peoples from their role in the fight for Palestinian liberation. Indeed, the people have the right and a duty to hold their governments accountable, if not to entirely dismantle these corrupt regimes and replace them with authorities that truly represent their will.
In Surat Al-Nisa, verse 135, Allah commands the Muslims to stand steadfast in the cause of justice, whether it be against oneself or even one’s close relatives. When we stand against the governments of our nations, we are not only standing for the justice of the Palestinians, but we are standing for our own justice as well. While we may not be subjected to direct colonial rule the same exact way that Palestine is, our nations are subjugated and exploited by the same powers and structures that oppress the Palestinian people.
Throughout the last two years, we have witnessed a flood of solidarity across Arab and Muslim countries and beyond. These are the initial sparks to a new pan-Arab and pan-Islamic awakening. However, these sparks will be snuffed out if we do not stoke them into a steady flame. We call upon the Arab and Muslim peoples to continue organizing and escalating popular mobilization efforts against any state apparatus that is complicit or enables the occupation and genocide of the Palestinians.
This is not the first time that Palestine has been under foreign domination and colonial rule. There is a clear historical precedent showing that the liberation of Palestine occurs through the liberation of the surrounding regions, and this liberation will not occur unless the people take a principled stance and demand it–“Allah will not change the condition of a people, until they change what is in themselves.” (Quran 13:11).
