Fifteen West Bank leaders, all former members of the Jordanian parliament, were summoned by King Hussein to participate in an urgent meeting of parliament in Amman this morning. All were expected to attend. The development was a surprise in view of the fact that the 15 deputies were pensioned off last year after Hussein dissolved his parliament.
It seemed to confirm recent predictions by Israeli observers that Hussein intends to try to re-establish Jordan as spokesman for the West Bank Arabs and a possible future negotiating partner with Israel. When the October 1974 Arab summit conference at Rabat decreed that the Palestine Liberation Organization was the sole representative of the Palestinian people, Jordan’s political role faded. Hussein acquiesced publicly to the Rabat decision but his subsequent dissolution of parliament was viewed as a sign of his displeasure.
Observers here noted that the West Bankers were called to Amman after Jordan’s Premier, Zaid Rifai, paid a surprise visit to President Hafez Assad of Syria in Damascus Saturday. Jordan recently reached a rapprochement with Syria which is the chief supporter of the PLO.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
