Return of Palestinians will be a personal choice — Rawabdeh

AMMAN — There is nothing called the “substitute land” on Jordan’s map and the right of return will be an individual decision for every Jordanian of Palestinian origin Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh said Friday.

At a seminar held in Irbid, the veteran lawmaker and statesman echoed statements by His Majesty King Abdullah holding to account rumour-mongers alleging that there has been a deal to turn Jordan into an alternative home for Palestinian refugees at the expense of national interests, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

Stressing the “sovereignty” of Jordan’s decisions, he added that these rumours have been spread by East Bank Jordanians as well as others of Palestinian origin, and are fuelled by the Israeli propaganda. 

Rawabdeh charged that these people seek to serve their own agendas and interests by taking advantage from sensitive issues like the recent decision to grant full civil rights, except nationality, to the children and foreign husbands of Jordanian women. 

They also play on leaked information of an in-the-making US peace plan for the Middle East, which, he stressed, is not complete yet and the leaks are ideas US Secretary of State John Kerry has collected from both parties to the conflict.

“The main challenge remains in entrenching a collective Jordanian identity under which sub-loyalties cannot overwhelm key identity of the country, where all enjoy the same rights and obligations without discrimination,” he said. 

Some had taken advantage of Jordan’s demands for compensation for hosting Palestinian refugees for over 64 years and claim that there are hidden agreements to resettle the refugees in return of billions of dollars, Rawabdeh said, repeating the King’s assertion that Jordan’s higher interests are not for sale. 

 He stressed that the King has underlined that the Kingdom will not compromise its sovereignty and the rights of its citizens and Palestinians at any cost, reported Petra.