The Palestinian leadership under President Mahmoud Abbas has been threatening unilaterally to declare statehood for Palestine. He is encouraging other countries to recognize Palestine as a state within the 1967 borders. And he appears to have the backing of President Obama, the EU, Russia, and the UN.
So it comes as some surprise to learn today that President Abbas, his two sons, and other senior Palestinian Authority leadership have quietly applied for--and received--Jordanian citizenship. According to an article in the Jerusalem Post, these individuals received their Jordanian citizenship at a time when they were publicly urging the Jordanian government to stop giving citizenship to Palestinians in order to “consolidate their Palestinian identity.”
Abbas has presented himself as the champion of statehood for the Palestinian people. But his words lose their force when we learn he quietly sought and received Jordanian citizenship for himself while publicly seeking to deny that right to other Palestinians. Reminds me of the old expression, "Do as I say, not as I do."
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