Letters: Jordan shares blame for Palestinian crisis
Daoud Kuttab ("Israel must leave Palestinian lands," Sunday) wrote that Israel must leave "lands ... occupied in 1967." Before the 1967 war, large parts of these so-called Palestinian lands had been occupied since 1948 by Jordan, which
Daoud Kuttab ("Israel must leave Palestinian lands," Sunday) wrote that Israel must leave "lands ... occupied in 1967." Before the 1967 war, large parts of these so-called Palestinian lands had been occupied since 1948 by Jordan, which refused to give the Palestinian residents citizenship, and which evicted Israelis from Jewish parts of East Jerusalem, where Jews had lived for centuries. Jerusalem, under the 1948 United Nations plan, was to be internationalized, but Jordan rejected that.
There wouldn't be any Palestinian refugees if Jordan and other countries had allowed the Palestinians to become citizens. But they preferred to keep them in camps so that the issue would never go away.
A more realistic approach would be to label these lands, especially East Jerusalem, as "disputed territory," and to press the Arab supporters of the Palestinians to eliminate refugee camps, and give their people a decent life.
Edward S. Marks
Philadelphia