Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has bluntly rejected the notion that Jordan is the Palestinian state, an idea vigorously championed by Ariel Sharon and long cherished by hard-liners of the far right.
Addressing the Agudat Yisrael Knesset faction Tuesday, Shamir said he preferred not even to mention the “Jordan is Palestine” concept, to avoid arousing the enmity and fears of King Hussein, the Hashemite ruler of Jordan.
The issue arose in the aftermath of Hussein’s peace-feeler last week, his interview in the French magazine Le Point offering to hold face-to-face meetings with Israeli leaders.
Amman backed off after Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy welcomed the proposal.
Right-wing ministers objected to a Hussein visit. Housing Minister Sharon said its only purpose would be to inform Hussein that Jordan is Palestine and he is no longer its king.
That view is based on the fact that a majority of the Jordanian population is of Palestinian origin. Its acceptance would mean the Palestinians already have their state and can make no territorial claims on Israel.
But Shamir said he has no desire to see Hussein replaced by Yasir Arafat, the Palestine Liberation Organization chairman.
His conciliatory nod toward Hussein indicated the Likud government is leaning toward the so-called “Jordanian option” long advocated by opposition Labor Party leader Shimon Peres.
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