Palestine - accentuate the positive eliminate the negative

In the expression of the people's faith in the efforts spent by His Majesty, Abdullah, toward attainment of natural aspirations, and basing itself on the right of self-determination and on the existing de facto position between Jordan and Palestine and their national, natural and geographic unity and their common interests and living space, Parliament, which represents both sides of the Jordan, resolves this day and declares:

First, its support for complete unity between the two sides of the Jordan and their union into one State, which is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, at whose head reigns King Abdullah Ibn al Husain, on a basis of constitutional representative government and equality of the rights and duties of all citizens….

Identical citizenship rights were conferred on the population of this newly created entity.

This territorial union was to continue uninterrupted until Jordan's loss of the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.

Jordanian citizenship however continued to be enjoyed by West Bank Arab residents until 31 July 1988 - when Jordan's King Hussein announced the severance of all administrative and legal ties with the West Bank.

In the past 18 months - as the Oslo peace process has started to disintegrate - increasing talk of a confederation between Jordan and the PLO has surfaced.

On 17 June Middle East Monitor reported:

With regards to the Palestinian issue, the king said that Jordan will continue to support the Palestinian people until they achieve their full rights and establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Talk of a confederation is, he suggested, "premature and out of context", as it would need the state to be established before it could even be discussed.

Events in Egypt and Syria indicate that the King does not have the luxury of time to see if the explosive issue of Palestinian statehood can be resolved between Israel and the PLO - which is as far away as ever since it was first proposed twenty years ago.

Jordan - 70% of whose population or descendants was born in western Palestine - now needs to consider restoring Jordanian citizenship to their West Bank Arab kinsfolk as existed between 1950-1988.

95% of the West Bank Arab population live in Areas A and B under the total administrative control of the PLO.

Reaffirming and restoring the common kinship of blood, geography and sacred ties between Jordanians and Palestinians by bestowing Jordanian citizenship rights on those coming under the PLO umbrella could be achieved reasonably quickly in talks with the PLO.

It would signify further progress to match the signing of an agreement in March by King Abdullah and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reaffirming Jordan's custodianship of the Holy Places in Jerusalem

In the immortal words of Johnny Mercer:

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium's
Liable to walk upon the scene

Pandemonium or progress are the stark choices now confronting the PLO and Jordan.