Lieberman proposes Jordanian control in Judea and Samaria

“I never believed that today you would propose that the Jordanian army control parts of the Land of Israel,” Netanyahu wrote.

By World Israel News Staff

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Lieberman sparked a political firestorm Wednesday after proposing that Jordan assume security and administrative responsibility for parts of Judea and Samaria, including territory currently under full Israeli control, before saying he had mixed up the areas he intended to reference.

Lieberman, a former defense and foreign minister who has traditionally positioned himself as a security hawk, made the remarks during an interview with B’sheva Online while outlining his proposed alternative to continued Palestinian Authority rule.

“You have to reach an understanding here with the Jordanians, that they will administer Areas B and C and take security and administrative responsibility,” Lieberman said.

Asked whether he trusted Jordan with such a role, Lieberman replied: “They have no choice.”

“I don’t know whether they will bring in their army or establish battalions here under Jordanian command,” he added.

The reference to Areas B and C was particularly significant because the three designations carry very different implications under the Oslo framework. Area A, which includes major Palestinian population centers, is under Palestinian civil and internal security administration.

Area B is administered by the Palestinian Authority in civilian matters while Israel retains overriding security responsibility. Area C, comprising roughly 60% of Judea and Samaria and containing the Israeli communities in the territory, remains under full Israeli security control.

Lieberman’s remarks quickly drew fire from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior government ministers.

“Lieberman, I knew you were on the left since you formed a government with Mansour Abbas,” Netanyahu wrote on X. “I know you are on the left because you will form a government with Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Bennett and the Arab parties. But I never believed that today you would propose that the Jordanian army control parts of the Land of Israel.”

“Retract this immediately!” Netanyahu added.

The exchange comes against the backdrop of a long-running political rivalry between the two men. Lieberman once served as a senior Netanyahu ally, including as foreign and defense minister, but the two became bitter political rivals, and Yisrael Beytenu is now a core part of the opposition bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu in the October 27 election.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also attacked Lieberman’s proposal, focusing on the prospect of Israel surrendering security responsibility in Judea and Samaria.

“Listen to Lieberman: Someone who presents himself as a man of the right is proposing that we relinquish our security responsibility in Judea and Samaria and transfer it to the Jordanians! To the Jordanians!” Smotrich wrote.

“Lieberman wants to return Israel to the days of the Jordanian Legion. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Smotrich later said he was “deeply troubled” by the remarks, describing them as an abandonment of positions Lieberman once represented on the Israeli right.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli issued an even sharper response, calling the idea of Jordanian forces operating in Judea and Samaria “one of the most reckless and dangerous ideas imaginable.”

Chikli argued that Israel could not assume Jordan’s current political situation would remain unchanged indefinitely, warning that political upheaval in the kingdom could potentially leave hostile forces positioned in the hills overlooking Israel’s population centers.

Shortly after the backlash erupted, however, Yisrael Beytenu said Lieberman had misspoken and intended to refer to Areas A and B, not Areas B and C.

Lieberman subsequently clarified that his proposal would leave Area C under complete Israeli control while transferring responsibility for Areas A and B to Jordan.

“The State of Israel must create territorial continuity between all the Area C territories and maintain absolute control there,” Lieberman said.

“At the same time, an alternative must be found for administrative and security control in Areas A and B,” he added, arguing that Israel should not be responsible for governing Palestinian population centers including Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem.

“To prevent a vacuum into which Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the other terrorists will enter, an agreement must be reached with Jordan for them to administer Areas A and B, an Israeli-Jordanian confederation,” Lieberman said.

Rather than simply acknowledging the mistake, Lieberman’s party also fired back at his political opponents.

“The hysterical reaction of the draft-dodgers’ bloc only shows how desperate they are,” Yisrael Beytenu said.

“For anyone having difficulty recovering from the confusion, we should remind them that Netanyahu confused October 7 with November 7 when speaking about the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” the party added.

The clarification substantially changed the territorial implications of Lieberman’s original statement by removing Area C from the proposal. It nevertheless left intact the central and contentious idea of giving Jordan a direct security and administrative role in Areas A and B of Judea and Samaria.

Avigdor LiebermanJordanJudea and Samaria