King of Jordan Urges Dissolution of Palestine Arab Refugee Camps

King Hussein of Jordan called last night, in an address over Radio Amman, heard here, for the dissolution of the Arab refugee camps maintained by the United Nations and the integration of the camp residents in the countries of their refuge. He also announced a total break with the Palestine Liberation Organization, calling it an “extremist” group and warning that stringent measures would be taken against the organization’s supporters in Jordan.

Israeli political circles welcomed King Hussein’s statement as “a realistic approach that could contribute to the stability of the Middle East.”

Stressing that both points made by King Hussein, “if implemented,” could make a major contribution to peace and stability in this region, the Israeli circles pointed out that Israel has always asked that the Arab refugees be integrated in the countries of their refuge, and that Israel has even asserted its readiness to make a financial contribution toward such an end. Integration of the refugees into the countries where the United Nations maintains them — Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Egyptian-held Gaza Strip — is seen by Israel as a first step toward potential settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

As for the PLO, Israel views that organization’s activities as being directed not only against Israel but also against the more stable Arab regional forces. Israeli circles believe that, without the PLO’s sabotage activities, relations between Israel and the neighboring Arab states will be less tense, thus ensuring regional peace and stability. The Israelis also pointed out that King Hussein’s attack against the PLO is the sharpest and most bitter yet made publicly by any Arab leader.

(A Beirut dispatch to the New York Times today quoted a high official of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which has its headquarters in the Lebanese capital, that it is difficult to eliminate from the UNRWA relief rolls those refugees who may be serving in the Palestine Liberation Organization. Some of those men receive their PLO training in the daytime and return to the UNRWA camps at night the official said. He added that UNRWA has been discussing the problem with the governments of Syria and Egypt, which have jurisdiction over many of the UNRWA camps adjacent to PLO training grounds.)