Given the bigotry, discrimination and sheer brutality to which Palestinians have been subjected for decades by Israel, it is unsurprising that Tel Aviv treats its Arab neighbours with disdain. But as Jordanian analysts, officials and parliamentarians have argued, Israel has for too long taken its ties with the kingdom for granted. That might be about to change.
With an article of the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace deal that allowed Israel to lease Baqoura and Ghamr – fertile border lands owned by Jordan – set to renew automatically on Thursday, protesters took to the streets of Amman to urge King Abdullah to reclaim the territories. Meanwhile, 87 lawmakers signed a petition. All expressed their fury at decades of violent occupation. On Sunday, the king announced his decision to terminate the article.
This is a rare and significant admonition; Israel must understand that it cannot mistreat and murder Palestinians with impunity.
As a result, scenes of jubilation in Jordan greeted the decision, while Israeli analysts dismissed it as a populist manoeuvre. In many ways, this quarrel echoes the intractability of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Jewish entities owned Baqoura and Ghamr from the 1920s, although the lands became Jordanian following the 1948 war.
They serve as a humble reminder that people of different religions lived side by side in the Levant before war foisted borders upon them.
Today Israel is one of the region’s key destabilisers, running roughshod over Palestinians and international neighbours. But relations with Jordan have been particularly strained since July 2017 when two unarmed Jordanians were shot dead by an Israeli security officer at the Israeli embassy in Amman. Israel’s attempts to impose restrictions on the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which is under Jordanian custodianship, have further soured relations. Clearly the 1994 deal brought no peace dividend for the Jordanians and it is time Israel faced the consequences of its actions.
And yet, Israeli agriculture minister Uri Ariel has already responded with intimidation, threatening on Monday to cut off water to Jordan.
Aside from the symbolic importance of reclaiming sovereign lands and confronting Israeli brutality, Jordan sits at a precarious juncture, politically and economically. With high national debt and mass unemployment, protesters filled the streets of Amman earlier this year. Meanwhile, Jordan is struggling to cope with more than 700,000 Syrian refugees.
The lands of Baqoura and Ghamr, where the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers converge, are the region’s breadbasket, blessed with fertile agricultural land. Back in Jordanian hands, they will provide crops and ample water supplies for a nation in need.
For too long Israel has bullied its neighbours and those same neighbours have turned a blind eye to Israel’s brutalisation of Palestinians. This should serve as a wake-up call in Tel Aviv that state-sponsored discrimination and murder will not go unpunished.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
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