Jordan to reject any proposal without independent Palestinian state — PM

AMMAN — Jordan will reject any proposed settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that does not guarantee the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Tuesday. 

The premier noted during a press conference on Tuesday that Jordan's position on the long-running Palestinian-Israeli conflict rests on two irreversible constants; the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and the Hashemite Custodianship over Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian holy sites.

“These are the unshakable foundations of Jordan’s position on Palestine and the non-negotiable red lines,” Razzaz said in response to a question on how Jordan would respond to the so-called deal of the century.

Regarding calls to scrap a gas deal between Jordan’s National Electric Power Company and Israel, Razzaz said that his government was not the one who signed the deal.

He added that the decision to keep or cancel the deal will be taken in accordance with Jordan’s higher interests. 

“There is definitely a penalty clause in the deal,” the premier told reporters.

Razzaz said that the deal is currently being reviewed by the Constitutional Court. 

The Lower House has recently declared its “utter rejection” of the gas deal, requesting that the agreement be “cancelled at any cost”.

The government has decided to refer the gas deal with Israel to the Constitutional Court for interpretation of Article 33 of the Constitution.

Paragraph B of the said article reads: “Treaties and agreements which involve financial commitments to the Treasury or affect the public or private rights of Jordanians shall not be valid unless approved by the National Assembly. In no circumstances shall any secret terms contained in any treaty or agreement be contrary to their overt terms”.