U.S. And Israel Make Moves To Support Jordan's Abdullah

Amid signs of fragility, Biden and Bennett move to shore up Jordan’s Abdullah

LAZAR BERMAN 

Both Israel and the United States made major gestures to Jordan and its ruler King Abdullah II this week, a sign that they share serious concerns over the kingdom’s stability.

On Tuesday, the US administration announced that Abdullah will travel to the US later this month and will be the first Middle East leader to visit the Biden White House.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stressed Jordan’s role as “a key security partner and ally of the United States,” and said the visit would “showcase Jordan’s leadership role in promoting peace and stability in the region.”

Two days later, Israel agreed to dramatically increase the amount of water it supplies to Jordan in an effort to battle a devastating shortage, as Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.

And on Thursday it was confirmed that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Abdullah met in secret last week at the crown palace in Amman, in the first summit between the countries’ leaders in over three years.

Under the deal signed Thursday, Israel will supply Jordan with an additional 50 million cubic meters (65 million cubic yards) of water in 2021, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said.

The two also agreed to raise a cap on Jordanian exports to the West Bank from $160 million to $700 million.

Analysts say the moves, which come months after Abdullah’s half-brother was arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup against the king, are no coincidence.

The saga “probably shook up a lot of people in the administration more than they let on, and probably in Israel as well,” John Hannah, senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, told The Times of Israel.

Biden and Bennett are now taking steps to help ensure stability in the kingdom, which plays a central role in the national security of both countries.

This week’s moves indicate that Bennett and Biden see a need to shore up the Hashemite regime.

Frustration in Jordan has simmered for years against the background of economic troubles, political repression and doubts about Abdullah’s legitimacy. In the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated many of the public’s grievances, albeit mostly within the confines of the monarchy’s tight control of free expression.

Tribal groups that have traditionally been seen as the bedrock of regime support have been increasingly critical of not only the government in recent years, but of the entire ruling system.

Israel views Jordan as a reliable buffer against hostile states to the east — once Iraq, now Iran. Israel’s border with Jordan, and the Israel-controlled frontier between the West Bank and Jordan, has remained an oasis of quiet even as Iran’s armed proxies entrench themselves from Baghdad to Beirut, and jihadist groups grow in the Sinai.

A weakened regime in Amman could create a power vacuum that would allow terrorist groups to establish a foothold all along Jordan’s border with Israel and the West Bank. Palestinian refugees in Jordan could inspire dangerous unrest in the West Bank, and far more radical elements could replace the Jordan-funded Islamic Waqf on the Temple Mount. Iran would also likely seek to take advantage of the chaos to open a new front against Israel.

The United States sees the kingdom’s strategic importance in a similar fashion.

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