[elcid1970]

If Abdullah’s father Hussein hadn’t listened to the lies of Nasser that the (already fleeing) Egyptian army had invaded Israel, and heeded Israel’s twice made warning to stop shelling Jerusalem, the Old City and the West Bank would still be in Jordanian hands.

So screw ‘em. But Abdullah has to make warlike noises to keep his throne. And the “best Arab fighting force in the ME” still is no match for the IDF.

If Abdullah ends diplomatic relations with Israel then the border is back on a war footing which is not good for West Bank Arabs nor for Jordan. He’s not that stupid UNLESS the Pallies his Dad expelled from Jordan in 1970 have multiplied their numbers into a controlling majority that he can no longer ignore.

Israel annexed the Golan heights in 2018 with no response from war-torn Syria. PDJT moved the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. All three of these initiatives came decades after the fact. And West Bank Arabs aren’t going to throw away their homes and their Israeli-provided jobs just for this, in my opinion.

[Verginius Rufus]

Israel needs to consider the danger of Abdullah being assassinated or overthrown, which could result in a more militant regime on the other side of the Jordan. Remember that Egypt, Iraq and Libya at one point had relatively conservative monarchs who were overthrown and replaced by more radical regimes. No doubt Israel could defeat a radical Jordan and could put down another intifada on the West Bank, but is annexing the West Bank worth aggravating the military threats?

King Hussein may have crushed the Palestinian uprising but he did not expel all of the Palestinians from Jordan. I think half or more of the citizens of Jordan are descended from Arabs who lived west of the Jordan in 1948.

The current situation on the West Bank may not be satisfactory but I don't see how annexation (which no other country would recognize) would improve things.