AMMAN — Lower House will discuss with the government US Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace efforts in the region on Sunday amid expectations of a heated debate over the issue.
The discussion will start with the MPs presenting their point of views in connection to the plan and its implications on Jordan, and then the government will reply to the lawmakers’ remarks in the same session.
Parliamentary sources said that several MPs are expected to attack the plan and the government’s stand on it.
Last week, 10 deputies filed a petition calling on Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh to designate a session for a general discussion over the ongoing Middle East peace talks and outcomes of the US secretary of state’s visit to Jordan.
According to the signatories to the memo, the people’s representatives need to listen to the government’s point of view on the ramifications of Kerry’s expected peace plan on the Palestinian issue, Jordan’s interests and the region.
Kerry met with His Majesty King Abdullah and senior Jordanian officials this month. He provided his vision over a potential solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that touches on final status issues, which lies at the core of Jordan’s strategic interests, as repeatedly put by officials.
However, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour recently stressed that nothing was clear yet, explaining that Kerry was examining points of view of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, and is expected to come back with a detailed proposal for both sides. The premier advised against “jumping to conclusions” at this stage.
However, since the US diplomat’s regional tour this month, local observers and former senior officials have expressed concern over the possibility that the Middle East conflict will be resolved at the expense of Jordan, which might eventually become a “substitute homeland for the Palestinians”.
Senior officials have repeatedly said that Jordan will not accept any solution to the conflict that would compromise its strategic interests.
Earlier this month, King Abdullah met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and stressed that Jordan deems protecting its higher strategic interests a top priority, especially those pertaining to final status issues between Israel and Palestine.
In remarks to the media during his visit, Abbas said that Palestine will keep Jordan abreast of any developments in the peace negotiations.
