Israel Concerned About Stability of Jordan as Chaos Spreads
Image by Getty Images
A senior Israeli official has voiced concern for Jordan’s future stability given encroaching Islamist-led insurgencies in the region, a departure from Israel’s customary reticence about its neighbor and security partner.
Jordan, one of two Arab countries to have signed peace treaties with Israel, has largely weathered the upheaval in much of the Middle East over the past five years. It has low-key military backing from the United States and Israel.
“There is a stable regime in Jordan, which is dealing with dramatic challenges,” Amos Gilad, senior regional adviser to Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, said in an interview with the Israel Defense journal.
But while Israeli officials generally limit themselves in public to extolling Amman’s conduct, Gilad noted the big influx to Jordan of refugees from next-door Syria and Iraq, where Islamic State insurgents have set up fiefdoms.
“There is no doubt that ISIS is trying to penetrate (Jordan) from there, on a small scale for now,” he said.
“So they have worries. We should also be worried, but there is no way of not being impressed by their capabilities, military and otherwise.”
In Washington on Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter met Jordan’s King Abdullah and discussed what a Pentagon spokesman described in a statement as “mutual concerns in the region, including the ongoing crisis in Syria.”
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
