Recent developments in Jordan have raised “a certain measure of concern” here but Israel is not considering any action that would alter its policy of de facto peaceful relations with that country, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir told reporters Monday.
Speaking after he briefed the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Shamir said Jordan was experiencing a wave of “nationalist and Moslem fundamentalist hysteria.”
Israel did not consider King Hussein and his government to be part of that mood, Shamir said, though he questioned Hussein’s ability to control this “menacing and dangerous wave.”
A virulently anti-Israel member of the Moslem Brotherhood was elected chairman of Jordan’s Parliament last weekend, defeating by a substantial margin the king’s favored candidate.
Israel has been especially concerned by the increased number of armed infiltrations from Jordan which caused two Israel Defense Force fatalities this month.
Hussein had a private message conveyed to Israel assuring his neighbor that Jordan has not changed its traditional policy of maintaining quiet along their border.
Foreign Minister David Levy announced this week that Israel passed a similar message to Amman saying it was interested in Jordan’s stability.
Defense Minister Moshe Arens said the Jordanian army is in control on its side of the border.
Ma’ariv reported Monday that the United States warned Jordan to prevent attacks on Israel from its territory.
According to Ma’ariv, Israeli diplomats in Washington were told of the warning by John Kelly, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, and his deputy, Dan Kurtzer.
Hussein replied that he, too, was interested in maintaining peace along the border. Kurtzer said he did not get the impression that Hussein was losing control.
The JTA Daily News Bulletin will not be published on Friday, Nov. 23, because of the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States
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