Jordanian King Abdullah II. Photo: Reuters / Kayhan Ozer / Pool.

JNS.org – King Abdullah II of Jordan has apparently rejected on Sunday the US-backed idea of creating a confederacy including areas of the West Bank containing large populations of Palestinians, with government spokespersons insisting that Jordan would not be part of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Discussing the idea of a confederation with the regions of the West Bank is not possible,” Jordanian government spokeswoman Jumana Ghneimat told the Khaberni news agency, affirming the government’s position that the only solution to the conflict with Israel was the establishment of a Palestinian state on the disputed territories of the West Bank, known in Israel as Judea and Samaria.

Jordan’s responses came just hours after Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas confirmed his support for a tripartite confederation with Israel and Jordan in a meeting with Peace Now executive director Shaqued Morag, (former Peace Now director) Meretz MK Mossi Raz and Zionist Union MK Ksenia Svetlova.

According to Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah, the idea of a confederation between Palestinians and Jordanians has been raised on numerous occasions since 1984. As many as 70 percent of Jordanians identify as Palestinian.