Jordan Reserves Right to Review Relations With Israel

By Massoud A. Derhally

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Jordan has the right to review its relations with Israel in the wake of a military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has entered its second week and killed 514 Palestinians and five Israelis, the country’s premier said.

Jordan’s government “retains all options available to it to take any action to reassess and reconsider relations with anyone, especially Israel,” Prime Minister Nader Dahabi told lawmakers late yesterday in a televised speech. “We will not be silent.”

Jordan became the second Arab country to have a treaty with the Jewish state in 1994. Egypt and Israel signed a peace accord in 1979.

Dahabi’s remarks come a day after Jordan’s King Abdullah said the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated to the point where “silence is not acceptable.”

Israel started a ground offensive two nights ago in Gaza following a week of aerial bombardment aimed at stopping militants from firing rockets at Israel after a six-month cease- fire with Hamas expired Dec. 19.

In Amman yesterday, about 4,000 protesters demonstrated peacefully outside the Jordanian parliament, calling on their government to expel the Israeli ambassador and sever relations with the Jewish state.

Demonstrators carrying green Hamas flags chanted “With our soul with our blood, we will defend you Qassam.” The Qassam Brigades form the military wing of the Hamas movement.

Protest Rallies

Protesters also took to the streets yesterday in Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and Yemen as Israel intensified its ground offensive supported by the air force and navy. Tens of thousands of Turks demonstrated in Istanbul shouting anti- Israeli slogans and burned a dummy carrying an Israeli flag, CNN Turk reported.

The strikes on Gaza, where about 1.4 million people live on a strip that is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) by 14, triggered global calls for restraint.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Israel today to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, in an attempt to push for a cease-fire in Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice canceled a planned visit to China this week to monitor events in the Middle East, the State Department said.

The Israeli government rejected Dec. 31 a French proposal for a temporary cease-fire with Hamas, saying it would be a “mistake” to give the movement time to rearm and regroup.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has criticized Israel for using “excessive force.”