I | INTRODUCTION |
Jordan
(country) or Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan, kingdom in the Middle East. Its full official name is Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic Al Mamlakah al Urdunniyah al Hashimiyah). The
term Hashemite refers to the Jordanian monarchy’s claim of descent from Hashim,
the grandfather of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.
Jordan’s arid desert landscape and few natural
resources belie its importance in the history of the modern Middle East. The
territory was part of the Ottoman Empire, which was dismantled after World War I
(1914-1918) and replaced, in this part of the Middle East, by British and French
control. Transjordan—the territory east of the Jordan River—came under British
control, as did Palestine to the west of the Jordan River. Transjordan’s status
as an independent kingdom was recognized in 1946 (the kingdom’s name was changed
to Jordan in 1949).
In 1947 the United Nations (UN) voted to
partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state and to
internationalize the city of Jerusalem, but that plan was rejected by the
region’s Arabs. The Jewish state of Israel was nonetheless established in 1948
in Palestine. Transjordan, along with four other Arab nations, attacked Israel
the same year. Following the war, Israel held western Jerusalem, while Jordanian
troops held eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank. In the Six-Day War in June
1967, Israel conquered East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Jordan continued to
claim the West Bank until 1988 when, in response to mass Palestinian uprisings
and Palestinian claims to self-determination, Jordanian king Hussein
relinquished sovereignty over the West Bank.
Today, Jordan is bounded on the north by
Syria, on the east by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, on the south by Saudi Arabia and
the Gulf of Aqaba, and on the west by Israel and the West Bank. The area of
Jordan is 89,556 sq km (34,578 sq mi). Amman is the capital and largest city of
Jordan.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
The principal geographical feature of Jordan
is an arid desert plateau that covers four-fifths of the country. The plateau
rises to about 610 to 915 m (about 2,000 to 3,000 ft) in the west and slopes
gently downward toward the Syrian Desert in the extreme east of the country.
Deep canyons and mountainous outcroppings with elevations of up to 1,500 m
(4,900 ft) characterize the plateau in the southern portion of the country. This
arid region is at the intersection of the Syrian Desert and the northern Saudi
Arabian desert of An Nafūd.
The Jordan Valley occupies the western edge
of the country. A deep depression of the Great Rift Valley, it reaches 209 m
(686 ft) below sea level in the area of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and
408 m (1,340 ft) below sea level at the Dead Sea, the world’s lowest point. The
soil of the Jordan Valley is very fertile when irrigated, and the region
experiences a mild year-round growing season.
Highlands occupy northwestern Jordan, rising
to an average elevation of 3,500 feet (1,067 meters) above sea level. Jordanian
farmers grow fruits and vegetables in the rich soils of the north and grains in
the less fertile soils to the south.
A | Rivers and Lakes |
The Jordan River, forming the country’s
border with Israel and the West Bank, is the heart of the country’s drainage
system. Rains in the highlands are channeled down temporary streambeds called
wadis to the Jordan River. In addition, the Yarmūk and Zarqā’ rivers flow
into the Jordan River. The Yarmūk, which separates Syria, Jordan, and Israel and
is exploited by all three, is the larger. The Zarqā’ is entirely in Jordan. Its
flow is regulated by the King Talal Dam. The Dead Sea is about 80 km (50mi) long
and 18 km (11 mi) wide at its broadest. It is called the Dead Sea because it is
much too salty to support aquatic life.
B | Climate |
Jordan has a Mediterranean climate with cool
winters and hot dry summers and a variable rainfall. The rainy season runs from
November to April. Temperatures below freezing are not unknown in January, the
coldest month, but the average winter temperature is above 7°C (45°F). In the
Jordan Valley summer temperatures may reach 49°C (120°F) in August, the hottest
month, but the average summer temperature in Amman is 26°C (78°F). Hot desert
winds, called khamsins, blow when the barometric pressure is low just
before and after the hot summer months. Precipitation is confined largely to the
winter season and ranges from about 660 mm (about 26 in) in the northwestern
corner to less than 127 mm (less than 5 in) in the extreme east.
C | Plant and Animal Life |
Because much of Jordan consists of desert
and steppe, plant life is not abundant. Grassland and wooded areas are found in
the Jabal Ājlūn district between Amman and the Syrian border. In these regions
the trees include willow, oleander, and tamarisk along the lower Jordan River
valley and also ilex, olive, Aleppo pine, and palm. Wildlife includes the hyena,
hyrax, gazelle, ibex, fox, partridge, mongoose, and mole rat; birds are also
well represented.
III | PEOPLE AND CULTURE |
The population of Jordan (2008 estimate), is
6,198,677, yielding an average population density of 67 persons per sq km (175
per sq mi). The population of Jordan is almost entirely Arab. The only sizable
racial minorities in the country are the Circassians and the Armenians; each
group accounts for less than 1 percent of the population. Jordan is 79 percent
urban; nomads and seminomads make up perhaps 5 percent of the population.
The population grew enormously after 1948 as
Palestinian refugees flooded Jordan. An estimated 100,000 Palestinians fleeing
the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949 settled on the Jordanian side of the Jordan
River, and 310,000 more crossed the river after Israel conquered the West Bank
in the Six-Day War of 1967.
A | Principal Cities |
Amman, the capital and largest city of
Jordan, grew in population from a census estimate of 321,000 in 1966 to nearly
648,000 at the 1979 census, largely because of the influx of Palestinian
refugees; in 2003 the city had an estimated 1.2 million inhabitants. Other
important cities include Az Zarqā’ (population, 2000 estimate, 428,623) and
Irbid (247,275). Al ‘Aqabah, the country’s only seaport, had an estimated
population of 41,900 in 1989.
B | Religion and Language |
The great majority of the Jordanian people
are Sunni Muslims (see Sunni Islam). Shia Muslims (see Shia Islam)
form a small minority. Christians, about one-third of whom belong to the Greek
Orthodox Church, make up about 4 percent of the population. Islam is the state
religion and Arabic the official language.
C | Education |
Jordan has made significant strides in
education in recent decades, despite the influx of hundreds of thousands of
refugees and the very large share of the national budget assigned to the armed
forces. Public education is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15. At
the secondary level, about 85 percent of the male children and 87 percent of the
female children go to school. Some 92 percent of the Jordanian population age 15
or older was literate in 2005.
The country has two major universities:
the University of Jordan (1962) in Amman, and Yarmouk University (1975) in
Irbid. Other institutions of higher education include Mu’tah University (1981)
in Al Karak, Jordan University of Science and Technology (1986) in Irbid,
Al-Isra University (1991) in Amman, and numerous colleges and other institutes
for the study of agriculture, banking, social work, and public administration.
About 33 percent of college-age Jordanian males, and 37 percent of females,
attend institutions of higher education.
D | Libraries and Museums |
The major libraries of Jordan are the
National Library, the Greater Amman Public Library, the University of Jordan
Library, and the Scientific and Technical Information Center, all in Amman.
Major museums housing historical, religious, and archaeological treasures are
the Jordan Archaeological Museum, the Mosaic Gallery, and the Folklore Museum,
all in Amman.
E | Way of Life |
Rapid economic development and social
change in recent decades have resulted in great discrepancies in living styles
and standards in Jordan. Shepherds still move their flocks from east to west
with the change of seasons, but are most likely to do so today with the help of
a pickup truck. In some areas, village cultivators still employ mule-drawn
wooden plows and labor-intensive methods in tending their terraced fields,
harvesting is still done by sickle, and threshing is performed communally at the
village threshing grounds. In other regions, where the terrain allows, modern
agricultural machinery such as tractors and harvesters are utilized. This rural
life is rejected by large numbers of young people for whom education has opened
a wide range of new options, mostly in the city. The city has come to dominate
the modern Jordanian way of life.
Rapid economic growth and urbanization
have created tensions between traditional customs and a changing lifestyle.
Though family ties remain strong, most urban households consist of the nuclear
family, not the extended family. Arranged marriages are still prevalent, and
Amman is a socially conservative, work-oriented city with only modest
nightlife.
IV | ECONOMY |
Underdeveloped industrially, poor in natural
resources, and largely too arid for agriculture, Jordan is not economically
self-supporting and must depend heavily on foreign aid, primarily from
petroleum-rich Arab countries. Further burdens were placed on the economy after
the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank, which contained nearly half of
Jordan’s agricultural land, and by the subsequent influx of unemployed refugees.
In the late 1980s Jordan’s economy became increasingly dependent on the overland
transport of goods from the port of Al ‘Aqabah to Iraq and on remittances from
Jordanian workers employed in the Persian Gulf states. These sources of revenue
were disrupted by the Persian Gulf War of 1991 and the U.S.-Iraq War. In 2006
Jordan’s budget revenues were $4.5 billion and its expenditures were $4.9
billion.
A | Agriculture |
The West Bank accounted for an estimated
20 to 25 percent of the grain, 70 percent of the fruit, and 40 percent of the
vegetable produce of Jordan before the 1967 war with Israel. After the loss of
the West Bank, Jordanian agricultural production plunged, and the proportion of
the labor force engaged in agriculture declined from 37 percent to 4 percent in
2003. Only 2 percent of the land is cultivated, and only a small percentage of
the cultivated area is irrigated.
With so much of Jordan’s agriculture
dependent on rainfall, annual production figures fluctuate widely. Even in the
best agricultural years, food imports exceed food exports. Wheat and barley are
the major grain crops, but production is not sufficient to meet the needs of the
country. Cereal production in 2006 was 61,917 metric tons. Some fruit crops,
primarily citrus, olives, almonds, figs, grapes, and apricots, and such
vegetables as cucumbers and tomatoes are grown for export. Jordanian farmers
also cultivate tobacco. Livestock include sheep, cattle, goats, and
poultry.
B | Mining |
Although the country has few mineral
resources, phosphates and potash salts (both used in the production of
fertilizers) traditionally dominated Jordan’s export earnings. Mining operations
in Jordan produced 2 million metric tons of phosphate rock in 2004.
C | Manufacturing |
Jordan lost about one-fifth of its
industrial production as a result of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in
1967. Since then, the Jordanian government has encouraged the expansion of
industry through fiscal concessions and high protective tariffs. Jordan’s main
heavy industries are the manufacture of cement, fertilizer, and petroleum
products. Consumer goods industries include the manufacture of clothing and
other textiles, pharmaceuticals, cigarettes, paper, and processed foods. Since
the late 1990s manufactured products have grown to rival minerals as export
earners. Most of Jordan’s factories are located close to Amman.
D | Tourism |
Jordan’s many historic sites are popular
tourist attractions, notably Petra, an ancient city carved from solid rock in
southwestern Jordan. Tourism is an important source of foreign exchange revenue.
In 2006, 3.2 million tourists visited Jordan, yielding $3,266 million in
income.
E | Energy |
Jordan generates 99.4 percent of its
electricity in thermal installations using imported petroleum. In 2003 the
country’s output was 7.5 billion kilowatt-hours.
F | Currency and Banking |
Jordan’s unit of currency is the
dinar (0.70 dinar equals U.S.$1; 2006 average), which is divided into
1,000 fil. The Central Bank of Jordan, which was founded in 1964, is the
country’s bank of issue.
G | Foreign Trade |
The principal exports of Jordan are
phosphates, potash, fertilizers, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, and transport
equipment. The principal imports are machinery, food, crude petroleum and other
fuels, and basic manufactured goods. Leading purchasers of Jordan’s exports are
Iraq, the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, and Israel; chief sources for
imports are Iraq, Germany, the United States, China, and France. In 2004 the
total value of Jordanian imports was $8.1 billion, and the total value of
exports was $3.9 billion.
H | Transportation and Communications |
Jordan has a modern road network of 7,500
km (4,660 mi), nearly all of it paved. The only rail lines run from the Syrian
border through Amman to Ma‘ān, where branches run southeast to Saudi Arabia and
southwest to the port of Al ‘Aqabah, a total of 293 km (182 mi). Queen Alia
International Airport, south of Amman, is served by the Royal Jordanian Airline
and other international carriers.
In 2004 Jordan had in use 119 telephone
mainlines, 271 radio receivers, and 119 television sets for every 1,000
inhabitants. Publications include 4 daily newspapers, as well as 20 nondaily
newspapers.
V | GOVERNMENT |
Under the 1951 constitution (approved in
1952), Jordan is a limited monarchy.
A | Executive |
The Jordanian monarch is chief executive
and head of state and shares executive power with a prime minister and other
cabinet members who are responsible to the parliament. The monarch may declare
war, conclude peace, and convene, adjourn, and suspend the lower house of the
legislature.
B | Legislature |
The Jordanian parliament, called the
National Assembly, comprises two houses. The lower house, the Chamber of
Deputies, consists of 110 popularly elected seats, 6 of which are reserved for
female candidates. The upper house, or Senate, consists of 40 members who are
appointed by the monarch, subject to approval by the Chamber of Deputies.
C | Judiciary |
Jordan, like many Arab countries, has a
civil and a religious court system. Magistrate courts, the lowest in the civil
system, hear minor criminal and civil cases; important cases go to courts of
first instance. Decisions of these courts are subject to review by courts of
appeal. The supreme court of Jordan, known as the Court of Cassation, presides
over cases against the state, hears appeals, and interprets the law.
Islamic Sharia courts rule on
marriage, divorce, interdiction, wills, and guardianship cases for citizens
desiring Islamic interpretation rather than civil decisions. Non-Muslim
minorities may resort to religious courts of their own traditions in personal
status cases. The country’s nomadic tribes may bring cases to tribal
courts.
D | Local Government |
Jordan is divided into 12 administrative
districts, or governorates. Each is headed by a governor appointed by the
monarch. Jordan’s nomadic population is administered separately.
E | Political Parties |
Political parties were banned until 1992.
Since then, various parties have been established, many of which are allied with
the king. The largest opposition party is the Islamic Action Front.
F | Defense |
The king of Jordan is commander in chief of
the armed forces. In 2004 the army comprised a total force of 85,000 people; the
air force, 15,000; and the navy, an estimated 500.
VI | HISTORY |
The territory constituting modern Jordan was
the site of some of the earliest settlements and political entities known to
historians. The Ammonites and the kingdoms of Edom, Gilead, and Moab, situated
east of the Jordan River, are referred to repeatedly in the Bible.
The northern part of present-day Jordan was
part of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria from the 3rd to the 1st century bc, after which it came under Roman
rule. Southern Jordan was the site of a powerful kingdom centered on the rock
city of Petra. The kingdom was made up of Arab people known as Nabataeans. Petra
was situated on one of the main trade routes between eastern and western Asia.
Caravans carrying gums, spices, and silks brought by sea to the Gulf of Aqaba
went through Petra on their way to the lands of the eastern Mediterranean.
The Nabataean kingdom lasted until ad 106, when it too was conquered by the
Romans. After the division of the Roman Empire in the late 4th century, all of
what is now Jordan came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman
Empire).
Arab Muslim armies conquered what is now
Jordan in the 7th century (see Spread of Islam). In later centuries the
region was overrun several times by invaders from central Asia, including Seljuk
Turks, Mongols, and Tatars. During the Crusades, parts of Jordan were governed
by Christians. From 1517 until 1918 Jordan was ruled by the Ottomans (see
Ottoman Empire).
A | Transjordanian Independence |
The liberation of Jordan from Ottoman
sovereignty was achieved in September 1918, during World War I, by joint action
of British and Arab troops. After the war, Jordan, along with the territory
constituting present-day Israel, was awarded to Britain as a mandate by the
League of Nations. In 1922 the British divided the mandate into two parts,
designating all lands west of the Jordan River as Palestine and those east of
the river as Transjordan. Transjordan was placed under the nominal rule of
Abdullah ibn Hussein in 1921. In February 1928 Transjordan obtained qualified
independence in a treaty with Britain.
The government of Transjordan cooperated
with Britain during World War II (1939-1945), making its territory available as
a base of British operations against pro-Axis forces, which had gained control
of the government of Iraq. In 1945 Transjordan became a member of the Arab
League, an organization created for the purpose of coordinating Arab policy in
international affairs and curbing Jewish national aspirations in Palestine. The
British government relinquished its mandate over Transjordan on March 22, 1946.
By the terms of a treaty concluded by the two nations on that date, Transjordan
received recognition as a sovereign independent state. The treaty also
established an Anglo-Transjordanian military and mutual-assistance alliance,
with the British securing military bases and other installations in the country
in exchange for an agreement to train and equip the Transjordanian army.
Abdullah ibn Hussein was proclaimed king the following May.
B | The Arab League and Jordan |
In May 1948 the Jordanian army, known at
that time as the Arab Legion, joined with the armed forces of the other Arab
League nations in a concerted attack on the newly formed state of Israel. During
the war the Arab Legion occupied sections of central Palestine, including the
Old City of Jerusalem. Transjordan signed an armistice with Israel in April
1949.
In April 1949 King Abdullah changed the
name of the country to Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Hashemite refers to Hashim,
the great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad, from whom the Jordanian royal
house claims direct descent. In April 1950, despite strong opposition from other
Arab League members, the king formally merged all of Arab-held Palestine with
Jordan and granted citizenship to West Bank residents.
King Abdullah was assassinated in July
1951 by a Palestinian opposed to Jordanian tolerance of Israel, and was
succeeded by his son Talal I the following September. In August 1952 the
Jordanian parliament deposed Talal, who suffered from a mental disorder, and
elevated his son to become Hussein I the same day. A regency council acted for
the new king until he reached the age of 18 in May 1953.
Armed Jordanian and Israeli detachments
were involved in frequent frontier clashes during the early 1950s. Major sources
of friction were Israeli irrigation and hydroelectric schemes that would have
reduced the volume of Jordan River waters, considered vital to Jordanian
development.
C | Arab Problems and Disunity |
Jordan became a member of the United
Nations (UN) in December 1955. During the latter half of the following year
Jordanian and Israeli UN delegates registered bitter and increasingly frequent
charges of border violations and armed raids.
By the provisions of a ten-year pact
signed in January 1957 Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia agreed to furnish Jordan
with an annual subsidy of $36 million. The pact was designed to free Jordan from
dependence on Western nations, particularly Britain, whose policies were
considered anti-Arab and pro-Israel. The Jordanian premier and other leftists in
the government were dismissed by the king in April, however, and the following
June, Syria and Egypt revoked the aid pact.
In February 1958 two weeks after Egypt and
Syria merged to form the United Arab Republic (UAR), the more conservative
governments of Jordan and Iraq announced the formation of the Arab Federation.
When the Iraqi government was overthrown in July, however, largely as a result
of UAR propaganda and intrigue, the federation was dissolved and Jordan severed
diplomatic relations with the UAR. Although ties were restored in August 1959,
relations between Hussein and President Gamal Abdel Nasser of the UAR remained
strained. When the Jordanian premier, Hazza Majuli, was assassinated in August
1960, King Hussein charged Nasser with responsibility.
D | Tranquility in the Early 1960s |
During 1961 and 1962 Jordan was relatively
free of domestic political strife and antigovernment agitation by the country’s
refugee population. The growing strength of the throne was evidenced by the
general acceptance, and even popularity, of the king’s marriage in May 1961 to
Antoinette Avril Gardiner of Britain, who was granted the title Princess Muna.
(They were divorced in 1972.) After the elections of December 1962, political
parties, which had been banned during the height of Jordanian-UAR tensions, were
reactivated. Foreign relations were less relaxed, however. In September 1961
Jordan recognized the new regime in Syria, which had just seceded from the UAR,
and President Nasser of Egypt retaliated by breaking diplomatic relations with
Jordan.
After the fall of one premier and the
resignation of his successor in the spring of 1963, political parties were
banned again. Elections in July installed a new cabinet and inaugurated another
two-year period of relative domestic tranquility. Diplomatic relations with the
UAR (Egypt) were restored in 1964 in response to mounting pressure for Arab
League unity against Israel. Renewed clashes with Israel over Jordanian water
rights led to an Arab summit conference in Cairo, Egypt, in September 1964,
attended by King Hussein.
E | Growing Tensions and War with Israel |
Relations between Jordan and the left-wing
Baathist regime in Syria deteriorated in the mid-1960s. Despite calls for unity,
Arab nations tended to polarize into an extremist camp including Syria, Egypt,
and Iraq, and a moderate group including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. For
a time the Jordanian frontier with Syria was as troubled as its border with
Israel. Arab guerrilla fighters of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),
infiltrating Jordan from Syria, launched terrorist attacks against Israel for
which Jordan suffered Israeli reprisals. In July 1966 Jordan withdrew support
from the PLO, but a massive Israeli raid in November created intense pressure
for Hussein to back the terrorists. When he refused, the PLO called for his
overthrow, and clashes on the Syrian border increased.
Arab-Israeli tensions were meanwhile
mounting steadily. When war seemed imminent, Hussein, in an unprecedented
gesture of Arab solidarity, flew to Cairo and signed a defense treaty with
Nasser in May 1967. This action greatly enhanced his position with the refugees,
but it also committed Jordan to active involvement when the Six-Day War broke
out on June 5. On June 7, with its air force destroyed and the West Bank
occupied, Jordan accepted a UN cease-fire.
Jordanian postwar diplomacy aimed at
reinforcing ties with the West and achieving an Israeli withdrawal from the
occupied area. Hussein took no unilateral initiatives toward a peace settlement,
however, and Egypt, Algeria, and Syria hardened their anti-Israel position with
calls for a sustained guerrilla offensive against Israel, staged from bases in
Jordan.
The situation in Jordan reached the point
of civil war in September 1970, when Palestinian guerrillas supported by Syria
fought Jordanian troops in Amman and other areas of northern Jordan. After heavy
casualties, a cease-fire agreement was reached requiring a number of concessions
from Hussein. In 1971, however, Hussein ordered Premier Wasfi al-Tall to take
military action against the guerrillas, and the movement was completely crushed.
The Arab response to Jordan’s actions was hostile. In November while attending a
meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, Premier al-Tall was assassinated by
guerrilla members of the Palestinian Black September organization.
In 1972 Hussein proposed creation of a
federated Arab state comprising Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Most
Arab governments and the Palestinian organizations were unanimously opposed to
such a state, however.
In February 1973 King Hussein visited the
United States and received promises of continued U.S. economic and military aid.
In September Hussein granted amnesty to 1,500 political prisoners, including
some 750 Palestinian commandos. The move was viewed as a peace gesture following
meetings with the leaders of Egypt and Syria that had brought about
reconciliation among the three countries.
F | The 1973 War and After |
The short, indecisive Arab-Israeli War of
1973 began on October 6 and lasted for 18 days. Jordan contributed some token
forces to assist Syrian troops fighting against Israel in the Golan Heights
region. After the war the PLO gained standing in the Middle East, and in 1974
Jordan reluctantly recognized it as the sole representative of the Palestinian
people. In return, Jordan was promised economic and military aid from other Arab
nations. In November King Hussein dissolved parliament so it could be
reconstituted without representatives of the West Bank. Elections for the new
Chamber of Deputies were postponed indefinitely in early 1976.
In 1975 Jordan established closer ties
with Syria, mainly in order to guard against a possible attack by Israel. King
Hussein refused to accept the 1978 U.S.-sponsored Camp David Accords on the
Middle East, because they failed to provide for Israeli withdrawal from all
occupied Arab territories; in 1979 he denounced Egypt’s separate peace with
Israel. Jordan supported Iraq in its war with Iran beginning in 1980, a policy
that strained relations with the pro-Iranian government of Syria. In January
1984 parliament held its first regular session in ten years, and limited
parliamentary elections took place in March.
In July 1988, in response to months of
demonstrations by Palestinians in the Israeli-held West Bank, Hussein ceded to
the PLO all Jordanian claims to the territory. Islamic fundamentalists showed
significant strength in Jordan’s first general election in 22 years, held in
November 1989. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, King Hussein
unsuccessfully sought to play a mediating role. Meanwhile, the large influx of
refugees from the Persian Gulf region, combined with the worldwide embargo on
trade with Iraq, took a toll on the Jordanian economy. An influx of Jordanians
who had fled from Kuwait and Iraq increased the country’s unemployment rate to
30 percent. The falling worth of the Jordanian dinar also added to the country’s
economic problems. Jordan’s apparent tilt toward Iraq during the Persian Gulf
War strained relations with the United States, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab
states. A joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation took part in the comprehensive
Middle East peace talks that began in October 1991.
G | Political Reform and Peace with Israel |
In 1992 King Hussein lifted a ban on
political parties, paving the way for the country’s first multiparty elections
since 1956. These elections, held in 1993, resulted in a loss of seats for
conservative religious parties and the election of a woman to the parliament for
the first time. In 1997 elections, marked by a boycott by Islamic opposition
parties and low voter turnout, candidates loyal to the king gained ground.
In July 1994 Hussein signed a peace
agreement with Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, ending 46 years of war and
strained relations between the two countries. In October, Jordanian prime
minister Abdul-Salam al-Majali and Rabin signed a full peace treaty, making
Jordan the second Arab nation (after Egypt) to establish relations with Israel.
The treaty resolved the long-standing and
deeply disputed issue of land and water rights: Israel agreed to return about
350 sq km (about 135 sq mi) of disputed territory just north of the Gulf of
Aqaba to Jordan in exchange for a much smaller portion of land then under
Jordanian control. Israel also agreed to make 50 million cu m (13.2 billion
gallons) of water available to Jordan each year, mostly by diverting flows from
the Jordan River. In addition, the two governments agreed to a full
normalization of diplomatic relations, and cooperation in areas of mutual
concern such as tourism, transportation, environmental protection, trade, and
economic development. While Israel recognized Jordan’s claims to Islamic shrines
in Jerusalem, Jordan pledged not to participate in anti-Israeli alliances, or to
allow its land to be used for such purposes. In September 1997 relations between
Jordan and Israel were strained again by Israel’s unsuccessful attempt to
assassinate the founder of Hamas, a militant Islamic group responsible for
frequent terrorist acts against Israel, in Amman.
H | Jordan After Hussein |
In February 1999 Hussein died of cancer,
ending a reign of 46 years. He was succeeded by his son, Abdullah bin
al-Hussein, whom he had named as his successor the previous month (see
Abdullah II). Abdullah vowed to continue the moderate policies of his
father. Soon after Abdullah assumed the throne, many Western and Arab nations,
including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, promised financial
support to help maintain political and economic stability in Jordan.
Following the new monarch’s
recommendations, the government clamped down on local followers of the militant
Islamic movement Hamas, closing its offices in Amman in August 1999 and
expelling its leaders in November, which effectively ended the group’s
activities in the country. Six Islamic militants were sentenced to death in 2000
for their membership in the outlawed organization al-Qaeda. Sixteen others
received prison sentences.
Legislative elections held in 2003, the
first of Abdullah’s reign, returned a substantial majority of candidates loyal
to the king. For the first time, women candidates won seats in Jordan’s
parliament. Abdullah assembled a new government after the elections, appointing
three women and several young technocrats to cabinet posts. The government
tightened security measures in the wake of a series of suicide bombings that
struck the Jordanian capital in November 2005, killing 56 people. Jordanian
officials said Islamic militancy was on the rise in their country as a result of
the U.S.-Iraq War, which began in 2003. That war also led to Jordan assuming the
brunt of a new refugee crisis as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, mostly from
the middle class, made their way to Jordan to escape violence in Iraq.
Abdullah addressed the United States
Congress in 2007 and urged U.S. action toward resolving the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict. That conflict, he claimed, was the basis of problems in the Middle
East.
Legislative elections in 2007 again
resulted in victory for allies of King Abdullah. The opposition Islamic Action
Front lost 10 seats it had won in the 2003 elections and was reduced to only 7
seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Following the election Abdullah named Nader
al-Dahabi as the prime minister. Dahabi is a former transport minister and air
force commander and is known as a technocrat, rather than a politician.
Many online casinos manage to pay casio wall clock for this service. Of course, there must be questions nearly what is an online slot machine? In this article, there is usually refer recommendation from various casinos, all of which have major details. One issue is that gamblers have to compete online taking into account other players, and you no question want to look your name upon the leaderboard. At the similar times pursuing victory in distinct competitions, this may fiddle with your life!
ReplyDelete