Jordanian MP: If we don’t die for Palestine, what is the point of life?

JUNE 26, 2020 13:38

Jordan should “unleash” violent resistance against Israel if the Jewish state moves ahead with plans to annex parts of the West Bank, a Jordanian MP has said during an interview on Jordan’s Roya TV.

Every Jordanian citizen would join in, Yahya al-Saud, the Head of the Jordanian Parliament’s Palestine Committee opined during the June 16 interview, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute who translated the interview from Arabic to English.

“If it is declared that we are ready to fight this enemy [Israel], I swear that no Jordanian citizen will refrain from joining. I swear by Allah because I see the reactions of the public,” al-Saud said.

Jordanian officials have repeatedly warned Israel against unilateral annexation, insisting that peace will only be achieved when the Palestinians are given their own state. In mid-May, Jordan’s King Abdullah II told Der Spiegel “If Israel really annexed the West Bank in July, it would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.”

Foreign minister Ayman Safadi has also warned of conflict between Jordan and Israel if the annexation, slated for July 1 at the earliest, goes ahead. Addressing a June 2 Liaison Committee meeting, he said: “The message should be clear. Annexation will not go unanswered. For if it does, there will only be fiercer conflict. Annexation will make the two-state solution an impossibility.”

Officials have not yet revealed what that might mean in practice, although freezing the peace treaty between the Hashemite Kingdom and the Jewish state has been suggested, as have diplomatic measures.

But al-Said went further, insisting that armed resistance should be on the table.

“It should be a strategic option. Yes,” he confirmed. “What did His Majesty mean when he told reporters there would be a conflict? The way I see it, conflict is a big word. Conflict can be a military conflict and why shouldn’t it be? We lack nothing. We have determination and power. We know that if we die we go to Paradise, but if they die, they go to Hell.”

Explaining his reasoning, he said: “What was taken by force will only be restored by force. Today, we must have the military option as a strategic option. We should also [support] the resistance option. Why should we drop this option? Let me give you an example. Suppose someone occupies your home and in the morning, you give him water, Pepsi, and sandwiches. He will want to continue to occupy your home. But if you mess with his car today, break the windows in his home tomorrow, and smack his son on the head – he will have to respond. If I may, why do we put the men of the resistance in prison? We should unleash the option of resistance and turn it into a strategic option.”

“When the King talked about conflict – I hope that he meant a military conflict,” al-Said added. “If we don’t die for Palestine and for Jerusalem, and in defense of our honor, and the honor of our women, then what is the point of life?”

Al-said also expressed support for diplomatic measures and cancelling the peace agreement, saying: “Summon our ambassador back from Tel Aviv. What are you waiting for? Annul this shameful agreement! Annul it! What do we need it for? What good has it brought us, anyway? Can you tell me, as a Jordanian citizen, what we have gotten out of this false agreement of deceit? Has it protected us from Israel? We are the ones defending Israel, not the other way around. Israel has an interest in peace with Jordan because we protect a 365-kilometer-long border. We are the ones protecting them, not the other way around.”