Jordan MPs introduce bill for abrogation of peace pact with Israel

Mar 26, 2008, 19:10 GMT

Amman - Ten Jordanian lawmakers on Wednesday presented a bill to the Speaker of the lower house parliament, Abdul Hadi Majali, envisaging the cancellation of the peace treaty which Jordan concluded with Israel in 1994, parliamentary sources said.

The draft law was signed by the six members of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's largest political party, and four pro- government deputies.

The bill cited five reasons for the proposed abrogation of the peace pact, including a reported plan by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to invade Jordan in 2003.

It also cited Israel's 'premeditated crimes over Jordan's soil', a reference to a failed attempt on the life of Khalid Mishaal, the politburo chief of the hard-line Hamas group, by two agents of the Israeli intelligence network, the Mossad, in Amman in 1997.

Other reasons for the motion included Israel's 'failure to implement UN resolutions' relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict and its conduction of 'genocide and crimes against humanity' in the Palestinian territories.

A slim chance existed for the draft law to be passed by the Jordanian parliament, where the government enjoyed a large majority, diplomats said.