Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres made a surprise trip to Jordan on Sunday night for intensive talks aimed at closing the gaps that still divide the two countries.
Officials from both sides have been predicting that the two countries would sign a peace treaty before the end of the year, a move that would make Jordan the second Arab country to make peace with Israel.
Egypt and Israel signed a peace agreement in 1979.
During what was their second visit to Jordan in as many weeks, Rabin met privately with King Hussein, while Peres held talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Salam al-Majali.
Among those accompanying Rabin and Peres was Elyakim Rubinstein, chief coordinator of the negotiations with Jordan.
Last week, Israeli and Jordanian negotiators ended another round of bilateral talks without reaching agreement on water rights and borders, the two major issues preventing the signing of a peace treaty. The bilateral negotiations were scheduled to resume this week.
In July, Rabin and Hussein signed the Washington Declaration, officially ending their 46-year state of hostilities and opening their borders to third-country nationals.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
