Jordan’s King Hussein appears to be resisting pressure from Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization to go slow on a peace settlement with Israel.
But the resolve of the Hashemite monarch, facing decisions from the perspective of his own uncertain health, will be sharply tested by challenges from within the Arab world.
The Syrians and the Palestinians are not happy at his unexpectedly overtaking them in negotiations with Israel. And the monarch is facing the opposition of Islamic fundamentalists who oppose any agreement with the Jewish state.
Nevertheless, the signs this week were favorable, with both Jordan and Israel expressing optimism as talks resumed in Washington.
Hussein’s chief negotiator, Abdel Salim a-Majali, told reporters after an opening round that the talks were “almost at the final stage” of an agenda setting the stage for an eventual peace treaty.
The head of the Israeli team, Elyakim Rubinstein, reinforced an upbeat view, saying the two sides were “on the verge of finalizing” an agenda.
And in Amman, Hussein himself said “things are certainly moving, hopefully in the right direction.”
In an interview with The New York Times, the Hashemite monarch said the Labor Party victory in Israel’s June elections was “probably a major turning point” in bringing about a shift in relations between the two countries after more than four decades of war.
The agenda goes far beyond a mere list of talking points to provide an outline of a future peace treaty and normalization of relations between the two countries.
Jerusalem, for its part, has indicated that a border dispute with Jordan over a 128-square-mile area in southern Israel does not represent an insuperable obstacle to agreement.
Officials indicated there is room to discuss Jordan’s claim of steady Israeli encroachment, during the 1950s and 1960s, on lands along the Arava border south of the Dead Sea.
But they said they hoped an arrangement would be worked out enabling the kibbutzim and moshavim now farming much of this land to continue doing so. Rubinstein toured the area and met with farmers there before returning over the weekend to the talks in Washington.
The Syrians, together with their Lebanese proteges, seemed this week to be slowing down the pace of their own negotiations with Israel. The reason was no doubt partly due to rising tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border. But uncertainty over the future course of U.S. policy also played a role.
Itamar Rabinovich, chief Israeli negotiator at the talks with Syria, said Tuesday he did not rule out a slowdown until after Jan. 20, when the team of President-elect Clinton formally takes over.
The Palestinians are not only suspicious Jordan or Syria may leave them behind in talks with Israel; they are prey to their own hard-line elements in Tunis, Damascus and elsewhere.
If the Jordanians do stay on course and finalize the agenda, it will certainly be a demonstration of leadership and resoluteness on the part of the king.
It will also reflect the impact of the multilateral track of negotiations proceeding on a parallel course to those at the bilateral level.
Most of the multilateral talks have proceeded so far in a fairly desultory fashion, but issues pertaining to the Israeli-Jordanian border region have attracted a good deal of serious international interest.
Particular attention has been paid to a plan to link the Red Sea and the Dead Sea in a canal that would supply hydroelectric power to both countries and replenish the drastically diminished resources of the Dead Sea itself.
An Italian delegation visiting Israel last week expressed its country’s readiness, indeed eagerness, to fund a feasibility study for this ambitious project.
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.
