The Parliament of Jordan, officially suspended by King Hussein in 1974 and inactive since the 1967 Arab-Israel war, was reconvened in special session today and political observers here and abroad are speculating about what this may mean for the future of the peace process in the Middle East.
The House of Deputies, which was elected shortly before Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, approved a constitutional amendment today enabling Hussein to call elections within two months. It was also approved by the upper house. The National Consultative Council, and un-elected body which has been governing Jordan for the past 10 years, was dissolved.
The Jordanian Parliament is equally divided between East and West Bank representatives and a large proportion of its members is Palestinian. Circles here recalled that Hussein suspended Parliament after the Arab League summit meeting in Rabat, Morocco decreed that the Palestine Liberation Organization was the sole legitimate representative and spokesman for the Palestinian people.
The re-instatement of Parliament was viewed by West Bank Palestinians as proof that Hussein is now prepared to play a greater role in West Bank affairs. It was also seen as a signal to PLO chief Yasir Arafat that unless he moves fast to give Jordan a negotiating role on behalf of the Palestinians, Hussein will take new initiatives on his own.
Negotiations between Arafat and Hussein last year broke down when Arafat declined to allow Jordan to joimin peace negotiations with Israel, on the basis of President Reagan’s September 1, 1982 initiative, over the fate of the West Bank. But the PLO is disarray. Arafat and his loyalists were driven out of Lebanon last month by Syrian-backed PLO dissidents.
West Bank Palestinians are believed to favor Hussein’s moderate approach and also support Arafat against PLO radicals who refuse to consider any sort of negotiations with Israel. But many Palestinians have not forgotten Hussein’s brutal ouster of the PLO from Jordan in September, 1970, the so-called “Black September.”
The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Kabas reported today that Hussein would try to conciliate the Palestinians by removing Premier Mudar Badran who played a key role in the 1970 purge of Palestinians. According to the newspaper, he will be replaced by pro-Palestinian Ahmad Obeidat. Badran told reporters that today’s recall of Parliament was purely an internal matter and had nothing to do with external pressures to resume the stalled peace process.
The elections which Hussein is now authorized to call would fill the seats of 15 deputies who have died since Parliament was dissolved 10 years ago.
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