JORDAN IS PALESTINE

by Gary Fitleberg-

Jordan is Palestine. Palestine is Jordan. This is the royal decree and sentiments of two of the kings of Jordan. "Palestine and Jordan are one..." said King Abdullah in 1948. "The truth is that Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan," said King Hussein of Jordan, in 1981. Let's closely examine the facts of history from the Arab perspective, rather than the Jewish one, regarding Jordan and Palestine. "Palestine is Jordan and Jordan is Palestine; there is only one land, with one history and one and the same fate," Prince Hassan of the Jordanian National Assembly was quoted as saying on February 2, 1970.

Accordingly, Abdul Hamid Sharif, Prime Minister of Jordan declared, in 1980, "The Palestinians and Jordanians do not belong to different nationalities. They hold the same Jordanian passports, are Arabs and have the same Jordanian culture."In other words, Jordan is Palestine. Arab Palestine. There is absolutely no difference between Jordan and Palestine, nor between Jordanians and Palestinians (all actually Arabs).

This fact is also confirmed by other Arabs, Jordanians and 'Palestinans' who were either rulers or scholars. "There should be a kind of linkage because Jordanians and Palestinians are considered by the PLO as one people," according to Farouk Kaddoumi, then head of the PLO Political Department, who gave the statement to Newsweek on March 14, 1977. Distinguished Arab-American Princeton University historian Philip Hitti testified before the Anglo-American Committee, "There is no such thing as 'Palestine' in history. "

According to Arab-American columnist Joseph Farah, "Palestine has never existed - before or since - as an autonomous entity. It was ruled alternately by Rome, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire, and briefly by the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land to the Jewish people as their homeland. There was no language known as Palestinian. There was no distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a Palestine governed by the Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians (another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc. "

These authoritative, honest statements are by Arabs, Jordanians and Palestinians, and absolutely must be taken at their face value and word. All right, so you're not quite into quotes. How about these tasteful tidbits of historical facts?

* Jews, not Arabs, have lived continuously in the ancient Biblical Promised Land of Israel, especially Judea and Samaria, for 3,700 years. This land was given as a gift by G-d to the Children of Israel (Hebrews, Israelites, Jews) and is so stated in all of the three monotheistic religions' holy books - Old Testament, New Testament and Quran. Faithful followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam all believe in the same one G-d and therefore must believe the word of their G-d. G-d does not make and break his promises. There is a very valuable lesson to be learned by all his children and faithful followers.

* The current queen of Jordan is an Arab 'Palestinian'.

* Approximately half of Jordan's prime ministers since 1950 have been Arab 'Palestinians'.* More than 2/3 of the Jordanian people are Arab 'Palestinians'.

* The majority of citizens residing in the capital of Amman are Arab 'Palestinians'.

* Arab 'Palestinians' constitute not less than one half of the members of the armed forces, according to the late King Hussein, as broadcast on Amman Radio February 3, 1973.

* The majority of other security forces are Arab 'Palestinians'.

* Jordan occupies 77% of the original Palestine Mandate (originally promised to the Jewish people). The population density of Jordan is less than 61 people per square mile leaving lots of room to absorb many more of their brethren and cousins.

Want to delve even deeper? Let's explore further. We all need to refresh our memory, as 'short-term syndrome' has taken over. Now for a little history lesson, for those who do not recall the reality of the past.

The British tried to placate the Arabs by giving them part of the land designated under the Palestine Mandate (originally allocated under the Balfour Declaration for the establishment of a Jewish homeland). Britain created an entirely new province by severing 77% of historic Palestine (and an additional 3% was also allocated to Syria), on the eastern bank of the Jordan River (some 35,000 square miles), and establishing the state of Transjordan.

Faisal, who had been King of Syria, was deposed by the French, so the British offered him the throne of Iraq, which he accepted. Faisal's brother Abdullah was installed as the new nation of Transjordan's ruler on April 1, 1921 (April Fool's Day), thereby completing the appeasement of Arab rulers. During the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, in which nine Arab nations attacked Israel, they took control of the ancient biblical territories of Judea and Samaria (Jewish territory, which was "occupied" for nineteen years until 1967, when it was liberated and reconquered in yet another defensive war).

On April 24, 1950, Abdullah formally merged all of Arab-held Palestine with Transjordan and granted citizenship to all Arab residents and settlers (the vast majority of whom arrived the 1920s for economic reasons). The Hashemite Kingdom was no longer only across the river so the prefix "Trans" (meaning "across") was dropped, and henceforth, the land became known as Jordan; i.e., Arab Palestine. Remember, Jordan is Palestine. Arab Palestine.

Don't take my word for it. Listen to King Abdullah, King Hussein, Prince Hassan, Farouk Kaddoumi, Phillip Hitti and Joseph Farah, Arab, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities on the subject; and listen to the historical facts, as well.

Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com / February 02, 2004