Updates

In an unexpected setback to President Abbas, the UAE-based al-Bayan newspaper has reported, that Jordan will oppose the Palestinians’ bid for unilateral statehood at the United Nations, becoming the first Arab state to publicly rebuff President Abbas.

A senior official from the Hashemite kingdom said that Amman will vote against a Palestinian statehood bid at the UN, because if it succeeds:

“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 the borders”.

It remains to be seen whether other Arab states in the region with similar concerns, Egypt in particular, will follow suit. Either way, this should raise some alarm bells for President Abbas, whose attempts to seek a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood will have far-reaching effects on not only the Palestinians’ relations with Israel, but also with their Arab neighbours.