Jordan ex-officials urge return of military conscription as Israel's extreme right set for power

Jordan ex-officials urge return of military conscription as Israel's extreme right set for power
Mamdouh Al-Abadi, who has previously served as Jordan's deputy prime minister, wants to see conscription brought back, as does Samir Habashneh, a former interior minister.
3 min read
08 December, 2022
Extremist politician Itamar Ben-Gvir is expected to become Israel's national security minister [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency/Getty-archive]

Ex-officials in Jordan have urged a return of military conscription in the kingdom as extremist Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir looks set to become national security minister.

Ben-Gvir, chief of the Jewish Power party, is expected to take up the role as part of a far-right coalition led by a returning Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mamdouh Al-Abadi, who has previously served as Jordan's deputy prime minister, wants to see conscription brought back, pan-Arab news website Arabi 21 reported this week.

He told the outlet the Likud party, which is led by Netanyahu, seeks to secure the lands of Palestine and the East Bank, meaning Jordan, for Israel.

"This time, the Likud came with more extremist Zionist personalities and parties, headed by Ben-Gvir, whose slogans include expelling the Palestinians from Palestine and bringing in all the Jews to replace them," he said.

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"There must be national conscription, of men and women, because we will face a close battle, perhaps after 15 years, so we must work for our children."

Samir Habashneh, who was previously Amman's interior minister, also said he wants to see conscription return when he spoke with Jordanian newspaper Al-Ghad.

Unlikely to happen

Oraib Rantawi, director and founder of Amman's Al Quds Center for Political Studies, said there is a "great deal of concern among the public opinion and elites" about Israel's incoming government.

However, there is "no sign that the [Jordanian] government will fall in line with these calls and demands", he told The New Arab.

He said he doesn't expect conscription or other calls for government action to happen in the foreseeable future.

Rantawi said it depends on how the incoming Israeli government acts towards Jordan's custodianship of Jerusalem's holy sites, how far violence in the West Bank escalates and how Israel's settlements are dealt with.

"These are all big sources of concern in Jordan. But so far, the government prefers to wait and see. They don't want to risk their ties with the Israelis and with the US," he added.

"The main concern is about the US-Jordanian relationship and how it will be affected if Jordan goes for a different approach [in] dealing with Israel."

Salah Malkawi, a Jordanian researcher in terrorism and military affairs, noted that Al-Abbadi and Habashneh are no longer in power.

He told The New Arab their statements are their "personal opinions" and "don't represent the government's stances".

Calls for a return to conscription are repeated every few years, sometimes even by those currently in power, for different reasons according to the time, he added.

"Sometimes it will be related to employment, or professional certification of Jordanians," Malkawi said.

For his part, Jordanian tribal figure Sheikh Tarad Al-Fayez urged the kingdom to reopen Palestinian militant group Hamas's offices after they were shut down in 1999, news website Independent Arabia reported.

He said Amman should also cut off the security cooperation it maintains with Israel.

Former Jordanian prime minister Taher Masri wrote in an article in news website Ammon last week that the results of the Israeli elections call for a new form of political thinking and language to deal with their consequences.

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He added that this will be a new challenge for Jordan and will present it with an unprecedented strategic threat. This requires a radical change in policy, he said.

Some have attempted to associate Jordanian King Abdullah's trip to Algeria on Saturday and Sunday with the extremist Netanyahu government expected to take power in Israel soon, Arabi 21 reported.

Jordanian National Constitutional Party chief Ahmed Al-Shannaq said: "King Abdullah II is in Algeria. Is Jordan facing new choices?

"In preparation for the next stage in confronting the Zionist extremism in [Israel's] new government? All options are open to Jordan."

William Christou contributed to this report.