Jordan: Peace Treaty with Israel in Doubt if Egypt Falls

According to the BBC it appears that the Jordanian government's concern over Egypt goes beyond the immediate protests. This week Jordan's King Adbullah fired his government and replaced it, including the Prime Minister.

Now if Egypt's 32 year peace agreement with Israel lapses with the collapse of dictator Hosni Mubarak's government, Jordan may have to reconsider its role. Jordan is the other Arab state in the region that has an official peace treaty with the Jewish state. King Abdullah has had very friendly relations with Israel and the United States and has backed peace accords with the Palestinians.

However, it appears that this may change.

The BBC's Matthew Price says that from Israel's perspective it has signed two important peace treaties in the region - one with Egypt and one with Jordan. A senior Jordanian official has told him that if Egypt slides into chaos, its 32-year-old peace treaty with Israel might not last long - and that would put Jordan under immense pressure to look again at its own peace treaty. Both Israel and Jordan are watching nervously what happens in Egypt.

This is incredibly tenuous. If Jordan and Egypt renege on their peace agreements it could spark another massive war in the Middle East. Israel faced off against Egypt in 1948, 1956, 1968, and 1973. Egypt's military is also armed with American weapons, including M1A1 tanks and F-16s.


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