In an ominous sign of an expanding regional war, Jordan has been seen moving its army closer to the border with Israel. Israeli towns along the Jordanian border have reported gunfire towards their communities from the Jordanian soldiers.
With the Hamas war raging and the potential for Israel’s North becoming engulfed with a war with Hezbollah, most have assumed that the Jordanian border would be trusted to remains silent. This has not been the case. Not only have there been increased infiltration attempts from Jordan, the Jordanian military itself has taken aim at Israeli communities nearby.
The IDF has increased its presence in the area, including special forces with the aim of deterring a potential third front from opening up.
So with a lot to lose, why would King Abdullah attack Israel? While Abdullah is not aligned with Iran, he does have some reasons he may either allow pro-Iranian militias to utilize his territory or in fact order his troops to attack Israel themselves.
The king’s wife, Queen Rania has roots in Tulkarm and is considered a “palestinian.” She has questioned the October 7th pogroms and if anyone would want her husband to attack Israel – it would be her.
In addition to his wife, the Jordanian street, which is 80% “palestinian” has already demanded Jordan’s King do something against Israel. It is entirely conceivable that in order to save his crown and appease the majority of his population, he may in fact attempt an assault on Israel or at the very least allow other’s to attack from his territory.
In November, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Israel has crossed “every legal, ethical, and humanitarian red line.” He has also criticized the selective application of international law. “If any other country in the world did a fragment of what Israel did, it would have sanctions imposed on it from every corner of the world,” he said at a security summit on Nov. 18. At a news conference on Monday, he said the events in Gaza “should be classified as genocide.”
This is despite the fact that Jordan itself regularly discriminates against its “palestinian” citizens. Jordan appears to be preparing at the very least an assault that will distract its populace from its own failings in an attempt to save the king’s head. After all it wasn’t too long ago that this same populace was ready to rebel and run the king and his family out of Amman permanently.
Just as in 1967, when the current king’s father miscalculated and attacked Israel – it appears that King Abdullah may once again do the same thing.