It has been 25 years since Israel signed its peace accord with Jordan. Not only did the occasion go un-toasted in Jerusalem and Amman, the Jordanian Foreign Minister also chose to mark the anniversary by recalling its ambassador to Israel for "consultations." In undiplomatic language, Jordan has decided to freeze its diplomatic relations with Israel. The excuse? Israel's arrest and detention of two Jordanian citizens suspected of terrorist activity.
In the past few months, and essentially for all the years the accord has existed, Jordan has appeared to be dissatisfied with it, maybe even regretting signing it. Jordan's parliament makes consistent calls to cut off ties with Israel. But why isn't anyone in a position of authority in Israel saying, "The water that you parliamentarians drink is 'Israeli' water, which flows to you thanks to the peace deal. What's more, Israel has even increased the amount of water you get in response to increased consumption in the kingdom, which came as a result of your need to supply water to the refugees from Syria."
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Israel is considerate of the thirsty Jordan, and in response Jordanian parliamentarians and professional organizations are calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. The king is familiar with these facts, but he is staying quiet, which encourages the disseminators of hatred. It's been 25 years since the peace deal, and the king is still refusing to meet with the prime minister of Israel.
True, any Israeli reference to "annexation" infuriates the Jordanians. But someone should remind them that Israeli control of Judea and Samaria is a major obstacle to Palestinians entering the kingdom. Jordan won't admit it, but it knows that Israel is guaranteeing its security. In 1988 Jordan forewent its claims to the West Bank. If under some future peace agreement Jordan would recognize Israeli security or even political control of the West Bank, the sane people in Jordan would breathe a sigh of relief: the Palestinians inside Jordan are more bitter enemies to the kingdom than Israel, and Israel is the one who guarantees that the king stays on his throne.
In the meantime, Israel has gone back to ignoring Jordan's actions and is holding its responses in check while recognizing Jordan's interest on the Temple Mount. But Jordan is now claiming that it is also responsible for sites holy to Christianity.
Some years back, I was shocked to learn how far Israel had gone to ensure the safety of the late King Hussein of Jordan. Today, Abdullah II is boycotting Netanyahu. The longer the king refuses to meet with the prime minister, the less chance there is of breathing new life into the old peace agreement.
The grimmest assessment of the current relations between Israel and Jordan come from experts, who say that if we raise any objection to the condition of the peace, we will only embarrass the Jordanians, which would be a shame. We can respond to that argument by saying that embarrassing Jordan would be nothing more than a minor protest from Israel over the death of the peace accord.
Twenty-five years ago, with my colleague Ehud Yaari, I covered the signing of the peace accord between Israel and Jordan. King Hussein and the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin demonstrated a warm friendship. Today, there is no welcome from Amman, only a cold wind.
