During an official visit to Shechem, the Jordanian prime minister, Abdel Salam Majali, told leaders of the local clans that he felt a confederation between Jordan and a Palestinian state would be the best option for the inhabitants of both. His statement, writes Khaled Abu Toameh, is a sign of an old idea regaining currency but still unlikely to become a reality:
In a rare moment of truthfulness, Majali admitted that the Palestinians were not “fully qualified to assume their responsibilities, especially in the financial field, in wake of the failure of the Arab countries to support them.” So Majali is basically telling the Palestinians: “You can’t rely on your Arab brothers to help you build a state. Jordan is the only Arab country that cares about you.” . . .
A study published in 2014 shows that the Jordanian public was against the idea. . . . There are, however, signs that a growing number of Palestinians are beginning to entertain the idea of being part of Jordan. . . .
The renewed talk about a confederation between the Palestinians and Jordan underscores the Palestinian leadership’s failure to convince many Palestinians of its ability to lead them toward statehood. It is also a sign of the revival of the role of Palestinian clans in the Palestinian political arena. For the past two decades, the power of the clans has been undermined, due to the presence of central governments—the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the weakness of these two governments has prompted clan leaders to take matters into their hands and renew talk about a confederation with Jordan. . . .
For now, it is hard to see how a Jordanian leader would agree to turn millions of Palestinians into citizens of the kingdom. . . . Still, the talk about a confederation between the Palestinians and Jordan shows that under the current circumstances, the two-state solution (a Palestinian state alongside Israel) is no longer being viewed by Palestinians as a realistic proposal that will bring their people a better life.
Read more on Gatestone: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8112/palestinians-jordan-confederation