Skip to main content

Jordan PM's comments on single state trigger uproar

Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz has said in a recent interview that a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be an alternative, causing uproar among Jordanians.
Jordan's Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz gives a press conference in the southern port city of Aqaba on July 23, 2019, discussing projects in the area including an underwater military museum. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)        (Photo credit should read KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz's comments to a British newspaper that the Hashemite Kingdom could view positively a “one-state democratic solution” to the Israel-Palestine dispute has created a stir at home, raising questions on whether the kingdom was abandoning its decadeslong commitment to the two-state solution as the only path to ending the conflict. British newspaper The Guardian quoted Razzaz in an interview published July 21 as saying that “Jordan could view favorably the creation of a single Palestinian-Israeli state, provided it gave equal rights to both peoples.”

“You close the door to the two-state solution; I could very well look at this positively if we’re clearly opening the door to a one-state democratic solution,” Razzaz said. But he added that he was ready to “challenge anybody from Israel to say yes, let’s end the two-state solution, it’s not viable. But let’s work together on a one-state democratic solution. But closing one and wishful thinking about the other is just self-deception.”

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.