Israeli politician Avigdor Liberman proposed a Jordanian security and administrative role in Areas A and B of the West Bank [Getty]
Leader of the Israeli right-wing party Yisrael Beytenu, Avigdor Liberman, suggested on Wednesday that Jordan take control of parts of the occupied West Bank, drawing criticism from several prominent Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with the Israeli right-wing podcast B’Sheva, Liberman proposed transferring security and administrative responsibility for Areas A and B of the West Bank to Jordan, accusing the Palestinian Authority (PA) of having become “bankrupt”.
Referring to the Israeli-occupied West Bank by its biblical names “Judea and Samaria“, which are not internationally recognised, Liberman insisted that Jordan should “take security and administrative responsibility”, adding that Amman has “no choice” and could either deploy its military or establish forces under Jordanian command.
The comments have since drawn responses from figures on the Israeli right, including Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz, who all criticised the former defence minister’s proposal.
Netanyahu accused Liberman of moving politically to the left and demanded that he withdraw the proposal.
“Liberman, I knew that you were on the left ever since you established a government with [United Arab List party leader] Mansour Abbas,” Netanyahu wrote on social media.
“I know you’re on the left since you’ll establish a government with [Gadi] Eisenkot, Yair Golan, [Naftali] Bennett and the Arab parties. But I never believed you would suggest today that the Jordanian army rule over territories in the Land of Israel. Retract your statement immediately!”
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also condemned Liberman’s proposal, accusing him of seeking to relinquish Israeli control over the West Bank.
“Listen to Liberman: Someone who presents himself as a right-winger is proposing that we give up our security responsibility in Judea and Samaria and hand it over to the Jordanians,” Smotrich said. “Liberman wants to return Israel to the days of the Jordanian Legion. We must not let that happen.”
Defence Minister Israel Katz also criticised Liberman, further accusing the politician of seeing himself “as a candidate for a rotating premiership” over the proposal.
“Until recently, he proposed that Israel unilaterally withdraw from Gaza and hand Gaza and the Philadelphi Corridor smuggling route over to Egypt,” Katz said. “Now, he is proposing to station a Jordanian army in Qalqilya, near Route 6, and hand Jordan security and administrative control over all Areas A and B in Judea and Samaria, even though Jordan’s declared policy is the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Following the criticism, Liberman responded that “the only one who declared his willingness to establish a Palestinian state is Benjamin Netanyahu”, referring to the premier’s 2009 speech at Bar-Ilan University in Israel’s Ramat Gan.
The Israeli opposition politician further expanded on his proposal, arguing that Israel should create territorial continuity between all parts of Area C and maintain complete control there, while finding an alternative to the Palestinian Authority’s security and administrative control in Areas A and B.
“I strongly oppose Israel managing the lives of Palestinians in Nablus, Jenin or Tulkarm,” he said. “Therefore, in order to prevent a vacuum that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorists will enter, an agreement must be reached with Jordan for them to manage Areas A and B, an Israeli-Jordanian confederation.”
The New Arab approached Jordan’s Foreign Ministry for a response to the comments but had not received a response by the time of publication.
The proposal is not the first time Liberman has advocated a Jordanian administrative role in Palestinian areas of the West Bank.
In an interview with Israel’s Ynet News in January 2025, he proposed an arrangement under which Jordan would administer Areas A and B, while Israel would retain control over Area C.
The proposal built on an earlier plan he presented in 2024, under which Jordan would take responsibility for Area A while Egypt would assume responsibility for the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II addressed the UN General Assembly, where he sharply criticised Israeli policies in the West Bank.
“What was once a creeping process has exploded into something far more aggressive,” he said.
The Jordanian king warned of escalating Israeli settler violence in the occupied territory, as well as “land seizures”, settlement expansion and the “forcible transfer” of Palestinians.
He also criticised Israel’s “expansionist appetite”, warning that its military presence in southern Syria posed a regional threat.
His comments came amid continued Israeli military activity in Syria following Israel’s incursion into the country in December 2024 after the fall of the Assad regime.
“This Israeli government’s appetite is now a regional threat,” King Abdullah II said. “And today, Syria is the warning.”