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The following is research published today from MEMRI’s Inquiry & Analysis series. Jordan's Ambiguous Stance on the Palestinians' U.N. Bid for Statehood Egyptian Economy Under Revolutionary Stress Inquiry & Analysis No. 738—Jordan/Palestinians/Inter-Arab Relations Jordan's Ambiguous Stance on the Palestinians' U.N. Bid for Statehood By: L. Barkan* The Arab press has recently reported a cooling of relations between Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA), against the backdrop of Jordan's opposition to Palestinian plans to appeal to the U.N. for recognition of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. While Amman supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, it calls for such a state to be achieved via negotiations with Israel, so that all permanent status issues are addressed and so that Jordan's interests in the issues of refugees, Jerusalem, borders, and water are protected. Jordan's concern is that any diplomatic move from which it is excluded could lead to a resolution without ensuring the right of return for Palestinian refugees, whose numbers in Jordan are greater than in any other Arab state, or to the creation of an "alternative homeland" for the Palestinians in Jordan. In 1988, Jordan's King Hussein announced that Jordan would disengage from the West Bank, "dismantling the legal and administrative links between the two banks" of the Jordan River, thereby relinquishing any Jordanian claims to sovereignty over the West Bank and any authority vis-à-vis the PLO. With this historic announcement, the monarch renounced his dreams of a federation of the east and west banks of the Jordan River, and expressed his support for an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank. However, Jordan now fears that despite King Hussein's move, Jordan could still be forced to pay the price for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The following report will provide an overview of Jordan's stance on the planned Palestinian bid for recognition of statehood in the U.N., and on the Palestinian leadership's diplomatic conduct. To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5645.htm. Inquiry & Analysis No. 739—Egypt Egyptian Economy Under Revolutionary Stress By: Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli* Following eighteen days of demonstrations in Midan al-Tahrir (Liberation Square) in the center of Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, on February 11, 2011. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces assumed the president's powers and vowed to oversee a peaceful transition process leading to free and fair presidential elections, after five rounds of presidential referenda that had ensured the election of Mubarak, the incumbent, uncontested. As the Egyptian people grapple with their newfound freedom, the broader economic and social impact of the political turmoil in Egypt and, indeed, across the region, will fully unfold in the future. To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5646.htm.