Confidence Building Measures in the Middle East by Gabriel Ben-dor

Author:Gabriel Ben-dor [Ben-dor, Gabriel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367159290
Google: p0bqygEACAAJ
Goodreads: 48633876
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-10-19T00:00:00+00:00

Prospects for a Future Confidence Building System

While many of Jordan’s ideas on confidence building are long-term steps, the Jordanians are in need of immediate assurances to proceed with the peace process and to cope with its demographic and economic problems. Jordan’s requirements for confidence building measures go beyond the Arab-Israeli theater to include Jordan’s Arab neighbors and diplomatic and financial supporters. With regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Jordanian government does not draw a clear distinction between security building measures and conditions for a political settlement. Instead, it articulated a number of political stands that are consistent with the overall Arab and Palestinian positions. For a long time, Jordan regarded Israel’s acceptance of UN Resolutions 242 and 338, its commitment to exchange land for peace, and its freeze on the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, as preconditions to advance the prospects for peace.

In addition, Jordan believes that Israel’s improvement of the quality of life for the Palestinians inside the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; respect for Palestinian human rights; free movement of people; release of Palestinian prisoners; abandonment of the policy of demolishing houses, deportation, and administrative detention; and the redeployment of Israel’s defense force away from population centers, as well as the return of deportees, would facilitate the peace process and signal Israel’s seriousness to negotiate. Jordan also fears that unless employment opportunities are created in the West Bank and Gaza, more Palestinians would emigrate to Jordan, an eventuality that would further increase unemployment and threaten Jordan’s social equilibrium.

In the ninth round of peace talks, Jordan discussed with Israel short-term confidence building measures including repatriating refugees; opening Jordanian banks in the occupied territories; and issues of environment, water rights, and energy. Though the question of resettling the refugees is sensitive to the Palestinians, the Jordanians want to solve the problem of 90,000 refugees who have Israeli residency permits and who had been denied reentry to the occupied territories since the 1967 June war. Confidence building in these areas would facilitate a conflict resolution orientation at some later stage.

Beyond these immediate concerns, Jordan’s vision of a final peace settlement includes the signing of a number of political, military, and economic agreements.12 At the political level, Jordan’s concept of a just and a permanent peace includes an end to the state of war, the demarcation of boundaries, and the recognition of the territorial integrity of all the countries of the Middle East. In this regard, King Hussein stated that “Jordan wants a permanent, durable, and just peace that will be acceptable to the future generations who will protect such a peace."13

The Jordanian political elite believe that regional stability and peace can be advanced by the formation of a security regime. The elimination of weapons of mass destruction (e.g., nuclear, chemical, and biological), the creation of demilitarized zones, and limitations on the sale of conventional arms are additional components of such security regimes. As part of this security arrangement, Jordan proposes the extension of international security guarantees to Israel and the Arab countries.

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