AMMAN, 3 August 2004 — Jordan yesterday denounced an Israeli attempt to block the sale of sophisticated US AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to Jordan, saying the move “apparently came as retaliation” for the successful Jordanian diplomacy that produced the International Court of Justice’s verdict, which considered the Israeli wall as illegal.
“Israeli attempts to block the sale of the AMRAAM missiles through some members of the Congress apparently come in retaliation for the influential Jordanian diplomacy that succeeded in bringing about an international condemnation of the Israeli separation wall being built on the West Bank,” government spokesperson Asma Khader said.
“We don’t accept this interference. It’s a matter of sovereignty and we will insist on negotiating with the Americans to acquire the latest weaponry that would defend our country against any future attack,” Khader told reporters. “We are adamant about our right arm to buy the weapons we see fit that we need to equip our army.”
The Jordanian government led a Pan-Arab legal argument before the ICJ, which on July 9 ruled that the Israeli barrier was “illegal” and the portion built should be “dismantled”.
Khader was responding to a report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which quoted a diplomatic source as saying Israel was trying to sabotage a Jordanian effort to acquire the sophisticated US missiles. The source contended that the sale of such weapon to Jordan was not necessary because “if Jordan is attacked we would do the work for them”.
“Jordan rejects such allegations of performing the defense for it by others and insists it is capable of defending itself,” Khader said. “At the same time, Jordan is keen to develop its own armed forces from weaponry sources it deems appropriate,” she added. Jordan concluded a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 through US brokerage.
