RAMALLAH, March 9 (JMCC) - The best revolution that Tom Segev can imagine would bring down the Jordanian monarch.
Speaking to
Der Spiegel, the Israeli historian
said that such an uprising would solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by allowing for the creation of a Palestinian state in Jordan.
SPIEGEL: If there was a revolution in Jordan, would it pose a threat to Israel?
Segev: No, on the contrary. If the corrupt Jordanian monarchy were overthrown, it would be the ideal opportunity to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because the West Bank and Jordan could then be united. There is already a Palestinian majority in Jordan, and there is enough room for everyone there. That would be the best revolution I could imagine.
Asked to comment on the revolutionary wave sweeping the Arab world, Segev spoke of Israeli fears. Like most Israelis, I know very little about the Arabs, he told the German paper. We just look down on them and see them as a threat.
He then went on to say that he worries Egyptians are not strong enough to bring democracy to fruition after forcing president Hosni Mubarak to resign.
Segev also warned Palestinians against attempting a third intifada.
I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad for both sides, he said.
But I don't think the forces are there (that could carry out) an uprising against the leadership. The people that could initiate it are in Israeli prisons. And what could they hope to achieve? In the end, they're too weak to end the Israeli occupation.
Segev is considered one of Israel's New Historians, a group of academics that has challenged Israel's creation mythology.