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When Peace Treaties Clash with Popular Sentiment in Israel's Arab Neighbors
(Daily Star-Lebanon) Rami G. Khouri - The newly elected lower house of the Jordanian parliament last week asked the government to expel Israeli Ambassador Daniel Nevo, and to recall Jordan's ambassador to Israel, Walid Obeidat. Neither of those things is going to happen, but the political dynamics of the process are intriguing. The lower house that was elected last November, in a vote boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood's party, was thought to be dominated by pro-government tribal interests, and thus would be little more than a rubber stamp body. The old formula of Arab governments issuing statements condemning Israeli actions, writing to the UN, or asking the Arab League sub-committee on agricultural exports to meet in emergency session is unlikely to suffice in emerging new conditions where Arab citizens expect their views to shape government policies.