Banned Parties in Jordan Form Coalition, Plan to Seek Power, Back Terrorists

A national political coalition dominated by left-wing groups and headed by the anti-Royalist former Prime Minister Sulieman Nabulsi, has emerged in Jordan and is openly seeking power despite the ban placed on political parties by King Hussein in 1957, the Times reported today from Amman. Although the five-party coalition includes the extreme right-wing, anti-Communist Moslem Brotherhood, it has taken a stand against “American imperialism” and is urging Jordan to support foreign “liberation movements,” and obvious reference to the El Fatah and other guerrilla bands operating against Israel from Jordanian soil. It also calls on Jordan to “resist Zionist occupation of (Arab) territory by all means…including military force and peoples’ resistance but not excluding political action.”

The emergence of the political coalition, despite its technical illegality, indicated that the groups believe the situation was ripe to put pressure on King Hussein to lift the ban and hold elections, the Times said. The coalition lays stress on national unity as long as Israel occupies part of Jordan. Thus, if King Hussein acts against it, he would be open to the charge of wanting to compromise with Israel, according to the Times. So far he has not interfered and apparently is trying to give the impression that the coalition is not unwelcome and is, in fact, cooperating with him.

Chairman Nabulsi is a former member of the left-wing National Socialist Party. He was dismissed as Prime Minister by Hussein in April, 1957 in the midst of violent anti-Royalist riots. One of Nabulsi’s closest associates in the coalition is Kamel Nasser, a former Baathist member of the Jordan House of Representatives who Israel deported from the West Bank last December for subversive activities.