Israeli sources said today that King Hussein’s cabinet shake-up in Jordan was intended to rally indignant Palestinian elements around the Hashemite crown. According to the sources, the appointment of the militant, pro-guerrilla Bahjat el-Talhouni as Premier is supposed to mollify the Palestinians who are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with King Hussein’s apparent inactivity. The same purpose was attributed to the King’s vague promise of self-determination for the Palestinians once they have been “liberated” from Israeli occupation. This is intended to prevent the crystallization of a Palestine separatist movement in collaboration with Israel, a possibility referred to more than once by Israel’s Deputy Premier, Yigal Allon. the sources said.
(The London Guardian said today that Jordan had refrained from replying to the Israeli attack on its Ghor irrigation canal because it fears heavier reprisals and has too much to lose in the Jordan Valley where there are still a few obvious targets that remain untouched by the Israelis. But according to correspondent David Hirst, it is only a matter of time before the Jordanians decide that they have little more to lose and seek revenge in kind.)
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