Jordan doesn't rule out war with Israel if Palestinians are expelled en masse

Jordan has said the army had beefed up its presence along its borders with Israel and warned that any Israeli attempt to expel Palestinians across the Jordan River would represent a breach of Jordan's peace accord with its far-right neighbour.

Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said on Tuesday his country would resort to "all the means in its power" to prevent Israel from implementing any transfer policy to expel Palestinians en masse from the occupied West Bank.

"Any displacements or creating the conditions that would lead to it, Jordan will consider it a declaration of war and constitutes a material breach of the peace treaty," state media quoted Khasawneh as saying, referring to the 1994 peace treaty with Israel.

"This would lead to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause and to harming the national security of Jordan," Khasawneh added.

Israel's war on besieged Gaza has stirred long-standing fears in Jordan, home to a large population of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Right-wing, ultra-nationalist hardliners now in the Israeli government have long espoused a "Jordan-is-Palestine" solution to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Jordan, the second Arab country after Egypt to sign a peace accord, has had strong security ties with Israel.

But relations have plummeted since the advent of one of the most right-wing governments in Israel's history.

"The peace treaty would be a piece of paper on a shelf covered with dust if Israel did not respect its obligations and violated it," Khasawneh said.

Any threat to Jordan's national security would "put all options on the table", Khasawneh said, adding that recent deployments of troops along the borders with Israel were part of measures to protect the country's security.

'This is a red line'

Residents and witnesses have seen large columns of armoured vehicles and tanks moving along a main highway leading to the Jordan Valley opposite the occupied West Bank in the last few days.

Officials say the army was already on a heightened alert for any eventualities.

Khasawneh said Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank could trigger wider violence, citing growing illegal Jewish settler attacks on Palestinian civilians since the October 7 attacks.

Washington has also urged Israel to curb settler violence, fearing wider conflict.

"Israel should steer away from any escalation in the [occupied] West Bank ... This is a red line Jordan won't accept," the prime minister added.

Israel’s war on besieged Gaza has killed over 14,000 Palestinians so far, nearly 10,000 of them are children and women. More than 6,800 Palestinians, including more than 4,500 children and women, are missing or said to be buried under the rubble of bombed homes, Palestinian authorities say.