King Hussein of Jordan will announce in a few weeks that he will join the Middle East peace talks with Israel, according to William Quandt, who was the Mideast expert in the National Security Council during the Carter Administration.
Quandt, who is now a member of the prestigious Brookings Institution, is touring the Mideast and arrived yesterday in Israel from Jordan where he met with senior government officials over the weekend.
In a lecture at the American Cultural Center in Tel Aviv yesterday, he said he had “a strong impression” that Hussein would announce his intention to enter the peace talks. Quandt said Jordan would send a delegation which would include Palestinians who are not members of the PLO but are accepted by that organization.
MESSAGE FROM JORDANIANS
He said he had asked the Jordanians what message he should take with him to Israel, and he quoted the following response: “Tell them that this would be an historic opportunity which should not be missed. After many hesitations, we are now willing to accept Israel and we feel that we can develop much better relations with her than those which now
Quandt expressed confidence that Hussein would indeed join the peace talks because he realizes that maintaining a passive attitude would cause him more harm than becoming involved. However, Quandt added, prior to announcing Jordan’s participation in the talks, Hussein would seek to obtain maximum support from other Arab leaders — and at least a tacit agreement from the PLO. The only country which Hussein feels will not support him in this venture is Syria, Quandt said.
He predicted a “big argument” between Israel and the United States, should Hussein decide to enter the peace talks, over the issue of Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Quandt also said he was less optimistic about the prospects for the success of ongoing Jordanian-Israeli talks than about the prospects of beginning the talks.
HUSSEIN’S TRIP TO WASHINGTON RECALLED
During his visit to Washington last month, Hussein reiterated his support of President Reagan’s Mideast peace plan. But after meeting with Reagan, there was no indication that the Jordanian monarch was willing or able to join the U.S., Egypt and Israel in negotiations based on the Camp David accords. Nor was it clear whether Hussein’s recent consultations with PLO chief Yasir Arafat resulted in a mandate, direct or implicit, for Jordan to represent Palestinian interests in peace talks with Israel.
Most observers here and in Washington believe that if Hussein joins the peace negotiations, his chances of getting U.S. weapons would improve considerably. Until now, the King has spurned the Camp David peace process. He still considers himself bound by the 1974 Arab League summit conference in Rabat, Morocco, which designated the PLO to be the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The Arab League summit in Fez, Morocco, last September did not rescind that decision.
Meanwhile, in Cairo yesterday Arafat was quoted in the Egyptian political weekly Rose al Yussef as saying that the PLO would continue its military “option” against Israel because the U.S. will not pressure Israel, “even within the limits of the (Reagan peace) plan which it put forward.” But he added that “We support every constructive aspect in any offered initiative.”
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