King Hussein’s public expression of readiness to meet with Israeli leaders, voiced last Friday in an interview with the French weekly Le Point, appears to have been more of a trial balloon than a bombshell.
In fact, the excitement dissipated rapidly over the weekend as it became apparent that the Jordanian monarch was not following the path of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, whose offer to go to Jerusalem in 1977 set the stage for the first peace treaty between an Arab state and Israel.
When Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy responded to Hussein’s remarks by inviting him to Jerusalem, the disclaimers from Amman were quick to follow.
“I can assure you on behalf of the king that he did not intend to get up and jump immediately to Jerusalem,” Taher al-Masri, Jordan’s foreign minister, told reporters Sunday.
The BBC reported that the king would talk to the Israelis directly, but only in the framework of an international peace conference, based on longstanding U.N. Security Council resolutions.
That is precisely what U.S. Secretary of State James Baker tried and failed to arrange during his four trips to the Middle East since mid-March.
In Washington, the Bush administration welcomed Hussein’s comments, but indicated the Jordanian monarch’s proposal should be seen in the context of the regional peace conference being pressed by the United States.
“We obviously welcome the possibility of talks between Israel and Jordan,” said White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. “Getting Israel to sit down with its Arab neighbors has long been one of our goals.”
State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said Monday that “peace isn’t possible without direct talks.” She said Baker’s “efforts have been designed to produce direct, face-to-face negotiations.”
Fitzwater reported that “there may be progress” in Baker’s efforts to bring about such talks. But he added cryptically, “I can’t go into details.”
BUSH SENDS LETTERS TO LEADERS
Fitzwater confirmed that President Bush sent letters over the weekend to Hussein, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Presidents Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Hafez Assad of Syria, and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
The letters were a “follow-up on the various opportunities” that appeared during Baker’s last mission to the Middle East.
He said Bush reiterated that he will continue to work for peace in the Middle East and urged the region’s leaders “not to pass up the opportunity” for progress created by the end of the Persian Gulf War.
Hussein’s message on direct talks with Israel therefore may have been intended mainly for Washington. The king has made clear that he has no intention of being excluded from Middle East peace negotiations and would wear the hat of a moderate.
The Jordanian monarch has survived some colossal mistakes during his long rule, Israeli observers point out. Now, he is trying to make amends for his most serious error to date: backing Saddam Hussein of Iraq against the West and most of the Arab world.
The king has decided that his country’s future lies with Syria, Egypt, the United States and, incidentally, Israel, all of which opposed Iraq.
But the Hashemite ruler faces strong Moslem fundamentalist opposition at home. The Islamic forces ascendant in Amman are not interested in dialogue with Israel.
The low-key reaction in Jordan itself to the Le Point interview may very well be a sign of Moslem disapproval. Syria, too, may have expressed dissatisfaction with Hussein’s overture to Israel.
It got a chilly reception from some circles in Jerusalem as well.
While Foreign Minister Levy promised a “red carpet” reception for the king if he comes here, hard-line ministers Ariel Sharon and Yuval Ne’eman said if Hussein expects territorial concessions from Israel, he might as well stay home.
Similar remarks were made by Deputy Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, skeptical of the king’s intentions, took a wait-and-see attitude.
In fact, Hussein has met with more Israeli officials since 1967 than any other Arab leader — meetings held secretly and routinely denied by both sides.
They included Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Shimon Peres, Abba Eban and Shamir, all foreign ministers at one time or another and three of them prime ministers.
Eban told the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot that he had met Hussein 10 times over the years.
Despite the letdown from last Friday’s news, the feeling here is that Hussein has chosen to be part of the peace process with Israel.
He seems to have no other choice. Following blindly the dictates of Syria or of the Moslem fundamentalists could spell the end of his kingdom as a political entity.
(JTA correspondent David Friedman in Washington contributed to this report.)
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