By David Singer ——Bio and Archives--May 23, 2023
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Two seemingly contradictory news reports within the space of 48 hours have thrown into doubt the possible implementation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine Solution (HKOPS) to end the unresolved 100-year conflict between Jews and Arabs.
HKOPS emanated in Saudi Arabia and was published in the Saudi-Government controlled Al Arabiya News on 8 June 2022 – and was subsequently amended – but the amended version was not published by Al Arabiya.
HKOPS called for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial entity - to be governed by Jordan’s current Hashemite rulers – with its capital located in Amman – not Jerusalem.
The plan’s author - Ali Shihabi – a confidant of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) – is a member of the advisory board set up by MBS to advise MBS on building a US$500 billion mega city – Neom - the size of Israel - in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
HKOPS is a potential game changer and circuit breaker since its features include:
HKOPS has not been rejected in the eleven months since it was published by:
Back-channel secret talks between Israel and the PLO have fueled speculation that implementing HKOPS was included in their meetings.
On 18 May an article headlined “Biden admin pushing for Saudi-Israeli peace deal by end of year, officials say” - came as a bolt from the blue with Biden’s bold call.
The article claimed:
“Two senior U.S. officials said it's in Saudi Arabia's interest to get a normalization agreement with Israel while President Biden is in office because it would receive more bipartisan political support and legitimacy in Washington, especially when it is likely to include U.S. steps toward Saudi Arabia that would be unpopular.”
The article however contained a caveat:
“Any deal will likely include a “Palestinian component” that Israel will have to agree to.
Successfully implementing HKOPS seemed the obvious deal that Israel would be asked to negotiate to gain a full peace with Saudi Arabia.
48 hours later that expectation was dashed when the 32nd Regular Session of the Arab League Council - held in Jeddah at the Summit Level under the Chairmanship of MBS - repeated its failed 21 years- old mantra:
“We stress the importance of intensifying efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement to the Palestinian issue and find real grounds for achieving peace based on the two-state solution in accordance with international references, mainly the Arab Peace Initiative, relevant international resolutions and the principles of international law, to ensure the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on Palestinian territory on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Ditching HKOPS will only serve to perpetuate the Jewish-Arab conflict – not end it.
Please join my Facebook Page: “Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters”
Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades
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David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com