Former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said tonight that Israeli leaders and Jordanian leaders, including King Hussein, met several times between 1967 and 1973 but failed to work out a peace agreement because Hussein demanded Israeli pull-backs that were unacceptable.
Dayan, who made the disclosure in the latest of his series of lectures at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, said it was necessary to do so to refute allegations that Israel had missed opportunities to reach a settlement with Jordan and therefore must now deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Dayan refused to pinpoint when or where the meetings took place or to say who participated on the Israeli side.
According to unconfirmed press reports that have appeared here and abroad in recent years–always vigorously denied–the participants included Yigal Allon and Dayan himself. Allon, now Israel’s Foreign Minister, was Deputy Premier and Minister of Education in the government of former Premier Golda Meir. Dayan said the peace efforts failed because Hussein was adamant that Israel withdraw its forces from the Jordan River “and we could not agree to this,” he said.
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