We cannot keep a Palestinian majority under an Israeli boot and at the same time think ourselves the only democracy in the Middle East.

The largely Palestinian majority in Jordan might rise up against the King they now claim to support, an official said.

Jordan, which already has Palestinian majority, would be further cemented as a de facto Palestinian state.

Over the years, polls have consistently shown "respectable Israeli and Palestinian majorities in favor of a negotiated two-state settlement."

But both the Israeli and Palestinian majorities know this is futile.

They are among the most ideologically hard-core settlers in the West Bank, and their relations with the Palestinian majority have been extremely tense for years.

Such an arrangement could bring economic benefits, but it might also carry political problems for Jordan, whose population already includes a large Palestinian majority.

It will have meaning when the Palestinian majority takes charge of its enemy within.

One wrote that "If there cannot be two states, there will be one, and it will have a Palestinian majority."

Israel's interest in encouraging a peaceful Palestinian majority by offering a political way out is obvious.