1. Palestinians are treated very well in Jordan. Palestinians are treated very poorly (and maliciously) in Israel.
Oh? Remember Black September?? Jordanians massacred thousands of Palestinians merely because they wanted to replace the Hashemites with Arafat (while passing the time hijacking and blowing up civilian aircraft on Jordanian soil)...
The fighting began the following day, with a Jordanian artillery barrage against the PLO stronghold of Zarqa. Within hours similar attacks were being directed against several areas of Amman, including the strategic Jabal Al Hussein, and on refugee camps such as Al Wahdat which had raised the flag of the Republic of Palestine. Patton tanks from the 60th armored brigade, accompanied by armored vehicles, entered Amman from all sides, and attacked the headquarters of the Palestinian organizations. Battles took place in Zarqa, Sweileh, Salt and Irbid as well. For the first time Arafat used the word ‘genocide’ to describe what was happening to the Palestinians, while urging his fighters to resist. The Palestinians acquitted themselves well, helped by his undoubtedly inspiring personal courage and stead-fastness. But Arafat’s first disappointment came when Iraqi army units which he had counted on refused to come to his aid and were seen retreating to a distant safe area. But Arafat took the Iraqi ‘betrayal’ in his stride.
On 18 September Arafat’s men were still acquitting themselves well and the Jordanian army was failing to make any substantial progress, despite Hussein’s expectations of an easy victory. The Arab countries and the Arab League issued appeals for a cessation of hostilities but did little else. By the end of the day, lack of organization and co-ordination was beginning to show and some Palestinian fighting units were running out of ammunition. On September 18, two days after the attack began, a small Syrian armored force invaded northern Jordan. By early morning on the 19th armoured units of the Palestine Liberation Army and regular units of the Syrian army invaded northern Jordan in a drive towards Amman. Soon they were joined by two Syrian armored brigades, which were reinforced the next day, and swelled to the size of a division. The opening of an additional front against Jordan was the desired scenario for the Palestinians. The Jordanians were afraid that Syria aspired to exploit the war that had broken out in the kingdom in order to occupy it and to realize the dream of "Greater Syria." They confronted the Syrians with the 40th armored brigade but the Jordanians were pushed back. Arafat the propagandist rose to the occasion and declared northern Jordan a liberated area. The Arab League called for an extraordinary meeting of heads of state. Israel urged Hussein to continue and, in line with the secret agreement between them, code named Sandstorm, placed its forces on alert. The United States announced that naval units were converging on the eastern Mediterranean to reinforce the Sixth Fleet as a precautionary measure. As the Syrian advance gained momentum the Israeli airforce buzzed advancing Syrian armoured units in an attempt to slow the advance.
The fighting in the streets of Amman was bloody. Neither side took any prisoners; both sides committed atrocities, many innocents were raped and killed, and most of the city was ablaze. In other parts of the country, besieged refugee camps where PLO fighters had taken refuge were running out of food and water. Wherever possible people lived in shelters, while others abandoned their villages for the safety of empty spaces. No fewer than five thousand soldiers and officers of the Jordanian army defected to the PLO, but most did so individually: the fact that there was no defection by whole units left the army’s organizational structure intact and enabled it to continue fighting, and did little to strengthen the PLO.
After their initial setback, the Jordanians counter-attacked the invading force from Syria and halted its advance. When King Hussein sent his air force against it, the Syrian air force commander and Minister of Defence, General Hafez Al Assad, refused to use his aircraft and the Syrian ground forces had to withdraw. What lay behind the Syrian move was Assad’s calculating conviction that the use of his air force would bring the United States and Israel into the conflict.
In the midst of the fighting, on 22 September, an Arab League delegation nominated by Nasser in a hurriedly convened meeting in Cairo arrived in Amman. It was headed by the Sudanese President, Ja’afar Numeiri, who was accompanied by the Tunisian Prime Minister, the Kuwaiti Minister of Defence and the Egyptian chief of staff. The following day, with Arafat on the move to avoid capture but remarkably still in total command of the Palestinian forces, the Arab delegates hammered out an agreement with PLO leaders Abu Iyad (Salah Khalaf) and Farouk Qaddoumi, who had been taken prisoner by the Jordanians and were released by Hussein to act as negotiators. But no sooner had the Arab delegates returned to Cairo than Arafat rejected the agreement and renewed his calls for the overthrow of the monarchy. (Note: Recall that Syria was still the primary "client state" of the USSR in the Mid-East. Thus, the perception that Syria would not have invaded Jordan without Soviet support and approval)
geocities.com (You need to read ALL OF THIS LINK, Thomas.. Good stuff in there.. Especially the part where Palestinians actually fled back into Israel for safety from Hashemite repression).
Now, bear in mind that "Black September" occurred approximately 3 years after the 1967 war... And within that short period of time we see the PLO making a play to seize power in Jordan, and coordinating with the Syrians to bring down the Hashemites.
We also see that the Hashemites were loath to assimilate their displaced Palestinian population from the West Bank. Any other country losing territory in a war would be compelled to integrate any refugees into their remaining society, with hope that, one day, they all might be able to return to their previous homes. But not the Hashemites. They only wanted the West Bank for economic reasons, never feeling any loyalty or real connection with its population.
So for you to sit there and claim the Palestinians are "treated very well" in Jordan is to IGNORE the realities and is further indicative of your utter lack of objectivity. And if you need any further evidence, I suggest you research "Jordan, Temporary Law #54".
One of these days your ilk will realize that there exists no "black and white" in the Mid-East, only a subtle balance of power, brutally applied and often manipulated and distorted by the superpowers fighting their proxy wars against one another for political, economic, and military advantage.
The Palestinians, as a nationality, didn't even exist prior to the UN declaration of a "Palestinian Partition". They were Jordanian citizens. They accepted that and didn't form a "PLO" prior to 1967 to oust the Hashemites. Thus, the Palestinian nation is a "political creation" of the UN which directly, and indirectly, threatens the stability and and security of several countries/governments in the region.
That's why few Arab regimes do more than flap their jaws when it comes to directly supporting a Palestinians homeland. The reality of such a nation, created by the UN, directly threatens their own legitimacy.
After all, do you really believe that any Palestinian government wouldn't do everything possible to subvert and overthrow the Hashemite regime so it can command that population and strategic geography??
Hawk |
