Palestine

Palestine and Jordan share a long history of religious significance where the lands were inhabited by ancient civilizations. Increased anti-Semitism in Europe led the gradual migration of Jews to Palestine and eventually took its toll with the creation of Israel.

Although Jews and Muslims enjoyed a long history of coexistence in the Middle East, the mass influx of Jewish migrants to Palestinian lands starting in the 1930s due to persecution in Europe created a major concern among the Arabs of a formation of a Jewish state. Hostilities continued to unravel for many years and resulted in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. In addition to violent crackdowns, murders, and persecution, Palestinians were forced to leave their homeland and were separated from their families and are now scattered all over the world.

The border between Jordan and Palestine was established by the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. Britain and France agreed to divide much of the Middle East into their respective spheres of influence drawing new boundaries of the region. This was a contradiction to the pledge that Britain's High Commissioner in Cairo, Sir Henry McMahon made to Sharif Hussein in a series of correspondence which promised military aid and support for postwar Arab independence in return for Sharif Hussein leading a revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Arabs revolted against the Ottoman Empire but were not granted independence following the war as promised, which became a cause of resentment against the West. Following World War I, Britain assumed mandates for Iraq and Palestine while present-day Syria and Lebanon became part of a French mandate.

Following the Belfour Declaration in 1917, Palestine was granted to Britain as a League of Nations mandate to build a national home for the Jewish people. The declaration paved the way for increased Jewish settlement in Palestine, which was inhabited by over 90% Arab population, and the dispossession of the vast majority of the Palestinian population in 1948. The significance of this declaration created a serious political response that resulted in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and the establishment of the state of Israel.

During the following years, Israel's campaign to subjugate and expel the Arab population caused violence and resistance. Meanwhile, Israel's efforts to destroy abandoned villages and fields and establishing Jewish settlements in their place were calculated measures to prevent the Palestinians from returning to their homes. Conditions such as diminishing public services, unavailability of jobs, and fear of chaos and disorder served as a domino effect. Many refugees were settled in crowded refugee camps in poor conditions in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. Palestinians have been demanding that these refugees should have the right to return to their homes under the UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

As Palestinian nationalism increased, so did the Israeli aggression. Continued Israeli oppression led to the first Intifada, which was an uprising against the systematic policies hampering Palestinian livelihood. Mediation efforts initiated the Oslo Accords, which was a Declaration of Principles on interim self-government arrangements. It was the first attempt for direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. It established that within a five-year interim period, Israel would withdraw from the Gaza Strip and Jericho and unspecified areas of the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority was formed to self govern the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Now the PA only controls parts of the West Bank. Hamas gained control over Gaza in 2007.

Since their union in 1950, the East and West Bank had been allocated equal representation within the Jordanian Parliament. Jordan subsidized schools and clinics, issued import and export licenses to merchants, and identification cards to facilitate travel and transport, and matriculation certificates from high schools. After the the 1967 war, Israel gained more territory than allocated for them by the 1948 UN resolution and expanded to the Golan Heights and Sinai. Egypt gained control of Gaza and Jordan incorporated the West Bank. When the PLO became recognized as the "sole legitimate representative" of the Palestinian people, King Hussein announced the disengagement from the West Bank to allow the PLO more responsibility for the area (http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_periods9.html).