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Comment and Opinion

Haaretz: Trump’s revived Jordan-Palestinian confederation plan may be dead on arrival, by Zvi Barel

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In the early ‘80s, King Hussein and Yasser Arafat had a plan to create a confederation between Jordan and the West Bank, after Israel would withdraw to the 1967 border and without either member of the confederation recognizing Israel. Most of the plan was accepted but later abandoned, largely due to a disagreement over the division of responsibilities and the status of each component.

In 1988, the plan was permanently shelved, when Hussein severed Jordan’s legal and administrative links with the West Bank. Since then, the idea has surfaced occasionally, usually brought up by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but King Abdullah has rejected it repeatedly.

The confederation idea has presumably been revived, this time by the United States, which according to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently offered him a plan similar to the ‘80s version. Abbas is well-versed in the historical plan and the circumstances of its creation. In the ‘80s, Arafat sought a political buttress after the PLO leadership and militants were expelled from Lebanon, while Jordan sought to tighten its grip on the West Bank.

Read the full article at Haaretz.