Former Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Al-Maashar said that the regional situation is going through a «miserable» stage, amid increasing foreign interventions and an American administration that does not hesitate to use military force without regard for international law, indicating that recent events in Venezuela are an example of this.
Al-Maashar added, in statements to journalist Raja Talab, that the current Israeli leadership sees military force as the primary option for imposing stability in the Middle East, emphasizing that peace cannot be achieved through force, and that this mentality is not limited to Gaza only, but extends to Syria, Lebanon, and Qatar.
Al-Maashar criticized the Arab stance, considering that the Arab world is not taking responsibility, and is content with blaming the outside, questioning: What do we do ourselves? And do we remain recipients of policies without owning a clear Arab project?
He explained that confronting the United States through military or technological means is out of the question, stressing that fortifying the Arab internal fronts is the way to make foreign interventions more difficult, pointing out that the satisfaction of the peoples with the performance of their systems reduces the chances of any foreign intervention.
He noted that the Arab world suffers from structural problems, notably unemployment, lack of economic integration, and the absence of a common Arab market similar to the European Union, in addition to dealing with crises with fragmented policies instead of addressing them within a comprehensive vision.
Al-Maashar pointed out that the rentier systems in the Arab world have begun to recede, especially with the declining role of oil globally, noting that the Gulf states realize this and are seeking to diversify their economic activities, while some countries still refuse to modernize their systems or adopt policies based on efficiency.
Regarding the future of the Palestinian issue, Al-Maashar expressed his pessimism in the short term, in the face of an Israeli government that does not want to reach a solution, and an American administration that aligns with the Israeli position and does not apply actual pressure, considering that the slogan of the two-state solution has become empty of content and does not represent a long-term solution.
He pointed out that the number of Palestinians today inside the territories controlled by Israel exceeds the number of Israelis, confirming that Israel will not be able to continue a system of apartheid where a Jewish minority governs an Arab majority, amidst radical shifts in global public opinion.
Al-Maashar considered that among the logical solutions is the proposal of one democratic federal state, which would allow Palestinians and Israelis to exercise their right to self-determination within one state, confirming that the current reality is already one state but under an apartheid system, and that the effort should focus on ending this racism.
On the internal Israeli affair, he explained that the division within the Israeli right is not about peace, but about supporting or opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Al-Maashar rejected the idea of the Jordanian-Palestinian confederation, considering it outdated and unlikely to receive Jordanian or Palestinian approval.
He affirmed that Arab collective pressure is non-existent, and that the Arab state most influential and attempting to influence the US decision is Saudi Arabia, referring to a statement by US President Donald Trump during his last meeting with Netanyahu in Florida, in which he said: «We agreed on most issues and disagreed about the West Bank», which means according to Al-Maashar the existence of a preliminary agreement on the annexation of the West Bank.
