Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan: Encyclopedia II - Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan - Jordanian conquest of 1948

Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan - Jordanian conquest of 1948

According to the 1947 UN Partition Plan, a large part of Palestine including the areas that came under Jordanian control were to have become an independent Arab state, but neither the Palestinians nor any Arab state accepted the partition. On 10 May, Golda Meir represented the Yishuv in the last of a series of clandestine meetings between the Zionists and Transjordan's King Abdullah that had taken place over the previous two years. Whereas for months there had been a tacit agreement between the Zionists and Transjordan to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Transjordan taking over the Arab areas, at the May 10 meeting Abdullah offered the Yishuv leadership only autonomy within an enlarged Hashemite kingdom. This was unacceptable to the Jewish leadership. However, Meir was left with the impression that Abdullah would make peace with a Jewish state (Morris, 1999, p. 221) and in fact the Transjordanian army did refrain from attacking the designated Jewish areas of Palestine in the ensuing war. As early as 1946 Abdullah had informed Alec Kirkbride, the British Resident in Amman, that he and his prime minister Ibrahim Pasha Hashim were in favour of partition and an exchange of populations between Transjordan and the Jewish state-to-be (Morris, 2003, p. 58).

Following the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948, seven Arab states entered Palestine and engaged Israeli forces. Although nominally the leaders of the attack, the Jordanian Arab Legion under the leadership of Sir John Bagot Glubb, known as Glubb Pasha, was given orders to not enter the terroritory of the Jewish state defined by the partition plan. It was also initially ordered to stay out of Jerusalem, but this order was reversed when it became clear that Israel was attempting to take the city. See 1948 Arab-Israeli War#Third phase: May 15, 1948 - June 11, 1948.

"A key feature of the Arabs' plans was the complete marginalization of the Palestinians... This aptly reflected the political reality: The military defeats of April-May had rendered them insignificant. The Arab League through the first half of 1948 had consistently rejected Husseini's appeals to establish a government-in-exile... Under strong pressure from Egypt, which feared complete Hashemite control over the Palestinians, the League Political Committee in mid-September authorized the establishment of a Palestinian 'government.'" (Benny Morris, Righteous Victims)

On September 22, 1948, the All-Palestine Government was established in Gaza captured by Egypt, and on September 30, the rival First Palestinian Congress, which promptly denounced the Gaza "government", was convened in Amman.

By the end of the war, Jordan forces had occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem. On April 3, 1949, Israel and Jordan signed an Armistice Agreement. The main points included:

• Jordanian forces remained in most positions they held in the West Bank, including Arab East Jerusalem, and the Old City.
• Jordan withdrew its forces from its front posts overlooking the Plain of Sharon. In return, Israel agreed to allow Jordanian forces to take over positions in the West Bank previously held by Iraqi forces.
• A Special Committee was to be formed to make arrangements for safe movement of traffic between Jerusalem and Mount Scopus campus of Hebrew University, along the Latrun-Jerusalem Highway, free access to the Holy Places, and other matters.

The remainder of the area that had been designated as Arab under the partition plan was partly occupied by Egypt (the Gaza Strip), partly occupied and annexed by Israel (West Negev, West Galilee, Jaffa). The intended international enclave of Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan, both eventually annexing their portions.

During this period, Jordan's rulers regarded themselves as the rightful heirs to the whole of Palestine. Rather than attempting to establish an independent Palestinian state for its West Bank subjects, it formally annexed East Jerusalem and the West Bank on April 24, 1950, giving all resident Palestinians automatic Jordanian citizenship. (They had already received the right to claim Jordanian citizenship in December 1949.) Only the United Kingdom formally recognized the annexation of the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem. (Pakistan is usually stated to have recognized Jordan's acts also but this is apparently false [1].)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Jordanian conquest of 1948", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki