“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him; to the one who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord”
Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV)
I pray God’s faithful goodness for your life this week, as the above Scripture in Lamentations promises to those whose hope is in Him.
In recent news, it seems to be a love-hate relationship between Israel and Jordan.
Publicly, Jordan is pushing for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. However, back-channel conversations imply that Jordan’s security and military leaders would rather side with Israel over the Palestinian Authority (PA).
With tensions rising inside Jordan, this is a story you’ll want to keep tabs on. Here’s what we know...
Last week Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned that Israel’s West Bank annexation plan would “kill the two-state solution.” This comes amid the appearance of a step-up in coordination between Jordan and the PA to “foil Israel’s plan to extend its sovereignty into parts of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley. This is according to the Jerusalem Post.
In an unexpected visit to the Palestinian capital of Ramallah last week, Safadi is said to have delivered a message from Jordanian King Abdullah to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, emphasizing Jordan’s strong opposition to Israel’s annexation plan.
Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official, said that the Jordanian minister’s visit was “part of a joint effort to confront the Israeli annexation plan and its repercussions on the region.”
Meanwhile, in less public conversations, Jordan, which must ultimately be on board with any Israeli-Palestinian agreement on the West Bank, seems to be siding more with Israel.
Israel Hayom, the online news and opinion magazine, quoted a senior Jordanian official last week as saying, “The Palestinian interest is obviously important to us, but what’s more acute from our perspective is Jordan’s national and security interest. . . . we prefer an [Israel Defense Force] presence west of the kingdom in the Jordan Valley over any other alternative. . . . We have no interest or intention of damaging our security relations with Israel on behalf of the Palestinians,” he said.
