Israel West Bank annexation moves raise security alarm in Jordan

middleeasteye.net · Feb 15, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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When Israel announced sweeping changes to the occupied West Bank, measures widely seen as accelerating annexation, Jordan was among the first to condemn the move. For decades, Amman has feared the mass displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank. But analysts say its concern is no longer limited to “creeping annexation” or gradual land seizures. Instead, the latest measures - which Jordan has described as null and void - are seen as the start of a “total annexation” phase, threatening not just the geography of the West Bank but the very core of Jordan’s national security. “This measure represents a leap across strategic stages,” Omar al-Ayasrah, a member of Jordan’s Senate, the upper house appointed by the king, told Middle East Eye. “They aim to completely remove Jordan’s influence on the Palestinian cause and the legal protections for Arab landowners, opening the door to ‘legalise’ their transfer to the occupation,” he added. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The Israeli changes, announced last week, include a wide range of measures - one of which is particularly sensitive for Jordan. That is the revocation of the 1953 law introduced when Jordan administered the West Bank, which banned the sale of property in the Palestinian territory to non-Arabs. 'This systematic pressure… is designed to push Palestinians towards emigration - a scenario Amman views as a nightmare' - Omar al-Ayasrah, member of Jordan’s Senate The law was intended to prevent land purchases by Israelis that could accelerate settlement expansion. Another measure involves the declassification of land registers in the West Bank. Keeping those records classified had been intended to protect property from being transferred through intermediaries or through forged claims to settlers. The changes will also enable Israel to legalise the confiscation of unregistered or abandoned lands by reclassifying them as “state lands”. The measures are seen as a radical shift in the legal and civil reality of the occupied West Bank, stripping the Palestinian Authority (PA) of the limited self-rule it gained under the 1993 Oslo Accords and entrenching de facto annexation. “The revocation of the Jordanian law is not merely a symbolic change,” Ayasrah warned. “It is a transition to a phase of accelerated, incremental annexation of the West Bank.” ‘Soft transfer’ Historically, Jordan maintained deep ties with the West Bank, administering it from 1950 until its administrative and legal disengagement in 1988. Despite that disengagement, the West Bank has remained central to Jordan’s national security because of profound demographic, economic and geographic links. Jordan, already home to a large Palestinian refugee population, now fears fresh waves of displacement that could destabilise its internal security and impose severe economic and social strain. That is why, according to Ayasrah, the real battle is demographic. “Suffocating the Palestinians’ geographic space and crippling their economy by seizing land and farms is a prelude to what we call ‘soft transfer’,” he said. “This systematic pressure, coupled with the absence of a political horizon and soaring unemployment, is designed to push Palestinians towards emigration - a scenario Amman views as a nightmare striking at its national security.” Israel’s new West Bank measures ‘accelerate annexation and end Oslo Accords’ Read More » In response to the Israeli moves, some in Jordan have called for escalation, with options ranging from revoking the 1994 peace treaty to military confrontation. For now, however, Ayasrah says the government is exhausting diplomatic and legal avenues. That includes maintaining diplomatic pressure on Israel and supporting the PA and the West Bank economy to help Palestinians remain on their land. “Jordan has only the ‘hammer of diplomacy’,” Ayasrah said, describing revoking the peace treaty as “political suicide”. At the same time, the Royal Hashemite Documentation Centre (RHDC), an arm of the Jordanian royal court, is intensifying efforts to restore thousands of historical documents and deeds proving Palestinian land ownership, some dating back to the Ottoman era and earlier. According to its director, Muhannad Mubaidin, the documents could be used in a legal challenge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the decisions taken by Israel. "The centre’s work on Palestinian land documents is not new; it has been ongoing for 18 years," Mubaidin told MEE. "We have restored records pertaining to land registers from the 1858 Ottoman Land Code, and subsequently, registers from the British Mandate period." "Today, this archival work is of paramount importance," he added. "Even if Israel disregards international law, these records are vital for memory, and the 'memory wars' Israel employs to depict Palestinian lands as having no owners, residents, or history." Red lines Political analyst Lamis Andoni believes Jordan cannot continue with a policy of “waiting out the storm” or relying solely on security arrangements. The latest Israeli measures are a “moment of truth” that no previous Israeli government has dared to reach, she said. Amman has leverage it could use, she added, including the gas deal with Israel and the United States’ reliance on Jordan’s strategic location, especially amid rising tensions with Iran. “The current strategy, which hesitates to use real leverage such as cancelling the gas deal or halting normalisation tracks, may be interpreted in Israel as a green light to proceed with the liquidation of the Palestinian cause at the expense of Jordanian territory,” Andoni told MEE. 'Israeli overreach could… trigger a regional earthquake' - Mamoun Abu Nuwar, ex-Jordanian major general Retired Jordanian major general and military expert Mamoun Abu Nuwar said the land confiscation moves in the West Bank amount to an “undeclared war” on Jordan. He explained that Amman relies on “preventive diplomacy backed by force”, with clear red lines focused on the custodianship of holy sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. “Jordan’s options, should diplomacy fail, could include suspending agreements, downgrading diplomatic ties, or even halting security coordination,” Abu Nuwar said. “Jordan could even be forced to declare the border with the West Bank a military zone to prevent displacement,” he added. He stressed that the military was prepared to handle such Israeli threats and warned that the forced displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank would shatter Jordan’s demographic balance. “Jordan will not allow this project to pass,” he said. “Israeli overreach could spark a violent conflict across the region, and Israel would not succeed in such a confrontation with Jordan, given the kingdom’s strategic geopolitical position - which could trigger a regional earthquake.”