Jordan's Refugees Nervously Watching Summit

A M M A N, Jordan, July 14 -- Many eyes are watching this week’s Mideast summit, but Jordan is especially anxious not to be sidelined in any possible settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

More than half of Jordan’s population of 4.5 million is of Palestinian descent. They came to the desert kingdom in waves: some in the aftermath of the 1948 war, some after the 1967 war, and most recently after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Tens of thousands live in refugee camps — but a few are among Jordan’s wealthiest citizens. Though most carry Jordanian passports and have full political rights, some complain of the continuous discrimination that bars them from government jobs and proportional representation in government.

King Abudullah II, Jordan’s young monarch, has held a series of talks with Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak and dispatched his foreign minister to Gaza to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat hours before the latter left for this vital phase of the peace negotiations.

In a meeting at the White House last month, King Abdullah urged President Clinton to involve Jordan in any settlement.

Justice vs. Destabilization

Since taking office, King Abdullah has advocated what he describes as a “society of justice and equality.” Many interpret this as a policy of giving Jordanians of Palestinian origin the same political rights as other Jordanians.

With the sense that a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could be nearing, the debate on the east bank of the Jordan River is heating up.

Jordan’s parliament recently gave a resounding vote of confidence to the reformist government appointed by King Abdullah — but only after three days of bitter debate that brought the Palestinian issue into the open.

On one side, deputies representing Jordanians of Palestinian origin have asked for more opportunities and representation as the king promised.

Deputy Hamadah Faraeneh, of Palestinian origin, requested more jobs for Palestinians in the government, security forces, and armed services, saying, “a large segment of the population has felt injustice for many years.”