Jordan says Israeli West Bank annexation poses greater existential threat than Iran

Jordanian officials argue that Israel’s accelerating annexation plans in the West Bank present a far greater existential danger to the kingdom than recent Iranian missile attacks. They warn that even a limited annexation of Area C could bring as many as 500,000 Palestinian refugees into Jordan, straining public debt, unemployment and ethnic tensions between tribal Jordanians and Palestinian Jordanians. King Abdullah has said annexation would cross a red line, suggesting Amman could nullify the 1994 peace treaty, shut crossings such as the King Hussein Bridge, and seek U.S. intervention. Public outrage in Jordan links U.S. policy to Palestinian suffering amid the broader regional conflict.