The sources said Jordan has not ruled out voting against a resolution in
the United
Nations General Assembly for a Palestinian state. They said the kingdom
was already warning most of the permanent members of the Security Council
not to
approve Palestinian statehood.
"The General Assembly does not worry Jordan because its decisions have
no real standing," the diplomat said. "It is the Security Council that could
make the difference."
On July 1, a senior Jordanian official warned that Amman could vote
against Palestinian statehood in the General Assembly in September. The
official told the United Arab Emirates daily, Al Bayan, that only Israel
would benefit from a unilateral Palestinian state in the West Bank.
"Jordan's top national interests will be in danger if the Palestinian
Authority declares statehood unilaterally — especially in everything
related to the issue of refugees, water, Jerusalem and borders," the
official was quoted as saying.
The sources said Jordan was already threatening to sever all links to
the West Bank. They said this included a decision by Amman to no longer
recognize travel documents by PA officials and their families. Most PA
leaders, including chairman Mahmoud Abbas, have been granted travel access
to the kingdom.
Al Bayan said Jordan has been lobbying against any UN resolution on
Palestinian statehood for several months. The newspaper cited an address by
Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to the diplomatic corps.
"This marked the beginning of the exposure of Jordan's decision to
publicly stand its ground before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas," Al
Bayan said.