His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday said that the Jordanian collective identity is a uniting force that “encompasses all our country’s sons and daughters.”

Meeting with a group of intellectuals, academics and thinkers, King Abdullah emphasized their responsibility to instill and deepen the sense of belonging and warned against discussions on national identity focusing on “a dualism that would tear our society apart.”

 “We should speak loud about the Jordanian identity,” His Majesty said. “National unity is a red line as far as I am concerned. We will not tolerate or allow a tiny group to sabotage the future of Jordan, regardless of their origins, beliefs or purposes.”

The King reiterated that the so-called “substitute homeland” exists only “in the minds of the weak”, and that the so-called “Jordanian option” is an “illusion”. The two terms refer to ideas raised by extremist Israeli rightists who call for solving the Palestinian question at the expense of Jordan, either by settling Palestinians in the Kingdom, or through making Jordan handle the administration of the West Bank, rather than establishing a sovereign Palestinian state.

 “Jordan is Jordan, and Palestine is Palestine,” the King asserted. “We know our direction, and our path is clear in our quest to protect Palestine’s future, and safeguard our rights when the future of Jerusalem and the refugees’ right of return are negotiated,” His Majesty told the meeting. “We support the Palestinians’ right to establish their state, and our position has not, and will not change.”

The King noted that from time to time, the substitute homeland issue surfaces. “Regrettably, although we keep reassuring these people, they keep bringing it up again and again. We need to move forward. We have a historic opportunity at hand to open a new chapter and carry on with political reform, not only for the sake of Jordan, but also for the sake of the Middle East and to set a model that everyone else would follow.”

All issues must be open for discussion, he added. “There is nothing we are ashamed of discussing, even if there were people who wanted to talk about the 1970 events,” the King noted, in reference to the clashes between Jordan and Palestine Liberation Organisation’s forces. “But this is a bygone era, so let us think about our future rather than the past.”

His Majesty said that Jordan cannot be rivalled in its support of the Palestinian cause and the rights of the Palestinian people.

“Jordan and the future of Palestine are stronger than Israel. It is the Israelis who are worried today,” he said, recalling that when he was in the US recently, an Israeli intellectual told him that the Arab Spring serves Israeli interests, but the King told him: “On the contrary, you are today in a more difficult position than before.”
“I want to assure everyone that I have never heard from any US, or any other, official, whether it be [former US presidents Bill] Clinton, [George W.] Bush or [Barack] Obama any remarks that entail pressure on Jordan with regard to solving the Palestinian issue at its expense.”

“I want to assure everyone that Jordan will never be a substitute land for anyone. It makes no sense that Jordan becomes so while we are sitting here doing nothing. We have an army and we are ready to fight for our homeland and the future of Jordan. We should speak loud and not allow such an idea to remain in the minds of some of us.”

At the same time, the King stressed, Jordan will forge ahead with the political reform process and will hold municipal elections before the end of the year and parliamentary polls in 2012. The needed constitutional amendments, he said, will be ratified within two weeks.

His Majesty said economic and political challenges remain a priority for Jordan and called on intellectuals to educate citizens on issues of concern to the homeland and its future, with particular emphasis on the Jordanian national identity.