15-year peace anniversary receives cold shoulder in Jordan
Reporters and columnists in Hashemite Kingdom describe peace treaty with Israel as 'frigid', say 'Israel is to blame for murdering peace'
While the anniversary received very little mention in the kingdom's four main publication, al-Rai, Ad-Dustour, al-Arab al-Youm and al-Rad, recent clashes in Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque were given wide coverage, headlines citing Jordan's warning to Israel against continued violence in Jerusalem.
Furthermore, most commentators claimed that the kingdom's citizens don't believe there is peace at all, and agreed that "Israel is to blame for murdering the peace"
In an article titled "Peace or illusion," Dr. Hassan al-Barari wrote that according to public opinion surveys, 80% of Jordanians consider Israel to be an enemy, adding that the peace treaty with Israel did not improve its image.
"Peace did not flourish because of Israel's policies towards Palestinians. Israelis think Jordanians have no feelings or reactions to the suppression of the Palestinians; they do not see beyond their own noses, and therefore are surprised when they are faced with the rift in Jordanian-Israeli relations," wrote al-Barari, adding that peace might have withstood strategically, but failed on the public and national levels.
In an article which defends Jordan's peace treaty with Israel, former Jordanian Minister of Information and top commentator, Saleh al-Kallab, wrote that "Israel is to blame for the loss of hope and the collapse of Arava-valley agreement."
'Israel condemned peace to death'
According to al-Kallab, Jordanians are entitled to feelings of bitterness, but must not fall for other Arab nation's criticism of the agreement, because "all arab countries went to the Madrid convention with their tails tucked under."According to an Op-Ed article published in "Al-Rad" newspaper, Israel's policies led peace activists to view Israel as a true enemy that turned peace into an illusion. "The concept of peace is subjected to a predetermined murder by Israel," read the article.
The author also slammed the Israeli embassy in Amman for what he called an incitement policy against Jordan, claiming that "the Israeli embassy incites other countries in the subject of Jordan's nuclear material for civil purposes."
The article continued to say that Israel's policies do not require Jordanians to pick sides between peace supporters and objectors, and that peace between the two countries suffers from an official frigidness and public death."
