Israel’s Peace With Jordan

Israel’s Peace With Jordan

The extreme violence of the Palestinian uprising known as the First Intifada created such uncontrollable chaos in the West Bank between 1987 and 1993 that the Jordanian government no longer wanted the responsibility of controlling that territory.

In the years after the Six Day War, Jordan was locked in conflict with Israel over the right to claim the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, where both Palestinians and Jewish families lived. In the aftermath of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s failure to maintain order, Jordan decided to distance itself from the unrest by relinquishing its claim to civil authority over more than one million Palestinians in the West Bank. While Jordan continued to be the only Arab country willing to grant citizenship to Palestinian living within its borders, those living in the West Bank could no longer claim Jordanian citizenship.

After 27 years of hostility and conflict, Jordan’s king decided to pursue permanent peace with Israel and in October 1994 a lasting peace treaty was signed. Like the earlier treaty with Egypt, Israel’s peace agreement with Jordan proved that Arabs and Jews could settle their differences when both sides are willing to make peace.