Israeli threats against Jordan, as FM Safadi proposes peace deal

An Israeli businessman considered close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a thinly veiled threat to Jordan, as Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi proposed a peace deal to end the war and guarantee the “security” of Israel.

Roni Mizrachi, a well-known Israeli entrepreneur, told the Israeli right Channel 14 television last week that “what we see today in Lebanon will next be found in Jordan,” saying Tehran could gain influence in the kingdom similar to that it has over Lebanese groups such as Hezbollah.

This follows a massive escalation of Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the past week, which left 1,000 dead and around 1 million displaced. Arab foreign ministers, such as Jordan’s Ayman Safadi, condemned the attack.

“I want to tell you… why we are all myopic. Because we see Lebanon today, in 15 years it will be Jordan, the next country where the Iranians will have interests,” he said.

“That is why Lebanon must be treated severely and the head of the snake must be hit. Iran must be hit with electromagnetic bombs – tactical bombs, including atomic bombs – not to harm the population but to strike its facilities. It is possible and we have the capacity.

Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994 and, despite maintaining diplomatic ties, relations became more tense after Israel’s indiscriminate war on Gaza and actions in Lebanon.

Most Jordanian citizens are of Palestinian origin, and protests against the war in Gaza regularly take place outside the Israeli embassy in Amman.

On September 8, a Jordanian truck driver opened fire on Israeli security guards at the King Hussein border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank, killing three of them.

Since then, Israel has killed hundreds more civilians in Gaza, continued its attack in the West Bank and is threatening a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

Shortly after Mizrachi made his comments regarding Jordan, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that Arab and Muslim countries would guarantee security of Israel if it accepted the creation of a Palestinian state in the West. Bank and Gaza, based on 1967 borders.

“The Israeli Prime Minister came here today and said that Israel is surrounded by those who want to destroy it…we are here – members of the Arab-Muslim Committee, mandated by 57 Arab and Muslim countries – and I can tell you unequivocally, we are all willing to guarantee the security of Israel in the context of Israel ending the occupation and allowing the emergence of a Palestinian state,” Safadi said.

He accused Netanyahu of deliberately creating a “danger” for Israel because he opposed a two-state solution.

“Can you ask Israeli officials what their purpose is – other than wars, wars and wars?” he asked.

Israel last week expanded its war against Gaza into Lebanon, refusing to accept a ceasefire on either front.

More than 41,500 people have been killed in Gaza since last October, while 700 have been killed in the ongoing Israeli attack in Lebanon, amid fears of a regional war.