Lower House Speaker deplores US legitimisation of Israeli settlements

AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday denounced the recent US legitimisation of Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands, labelling it as a blow to peaceful efforts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict through establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In his opening address of the Lower House session, Speaker Atef Tarawneh highlighted Jordan’s commitment to His Majesty King Abdullah’s leadership and to the implementation of international law and resolutions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

He added that the occupation state is making unilateral decisions to annex the Jordan Valley and the area north of the Dead Sea, which will lead to regional instability and further injustice towards the Palestinian people. 

The Speaker said that the Lower House, which monitors all violations inflicted upon Palestinians, warns against tampering with the legal reality of the Palestinian map along the June 4, 1967 lines.

He noted that the deputies believe that the annexation of the Jordan Valley and the legitimisation of settlements come from the same “evil” mentality that created the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration, saying that it is "as if the US is rewarding Israel for killing and displacing an entire people by giving it more land to occupy". 

Jordan is at a "dangerous" juncture, and "all Jordanians must handle the injustice and suffering faced by our Palestinian brethren with a spirit of national responsibility. We must follow the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, who calls for ending the oldest occupation on Arab lands as a stepping stone towards the region’s safety and stability", Tarawneh added.

The Speaker said that His Majesty was right to link the war against terrorism with the resolution of the Palestinian cause, adding that Arabs must provide greater support to Jordan to unify efforts against extremism which hinders Palestinians from establishing their sovereign state.   

Also on Tuesday during a monitoring session chaired by Tarawneh and attended by Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, the Lower House discussed 13 issues raised by the MPs, Petra reported.

Several issues concerning the "deterioration" of public freedoms were raised by 12 speakers. They also called for the release prisoners of conscience and efforts to release Jordanian detainees abroad. 

They further urged the cancellation of the “gas deal” with Israel in response to recent Israeli actions, in addition to amending the Election Law and improving the conditions of third-tier employees. Additionally, they addressed developing e-commerce and voiced service demands. 

The deputies valued the “honourable” stances of Saudi Arabia, most recently the conversion of a loan into a grant.

Replying to MP Insaf Khawaldeh, Minister of State for Legal Affairs Mubarak Abu Yamin highlighted the “integrity” of procedures taken by the committee assigned to appointments in senior positions, noting the availability of video footage of the interviews, which "confirms the committee’s transparency".

Minister of Interior Salameh Hammad, in response to MP Khaleel  Atyeh, said that the government is committed to the instructions of the Cabinet concerning children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians.