Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace: Encyclopedia II - Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace - Background to negotiations

Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace - Background to negotiations

The relationship between Jewish leaders in Palestine and the Hashemite dynasty in the area was characterized by ambivalence as both party's prominence grew in the area. Jordan consistently subscribed to the anti-Zionist policy of the Arab world, but made specific decisions in keeping with a pragmatic point of view.

Several factors are cited for their relative pragmatism towards Israel: Their close geographic proximity, King Hussein's pro-Western orientation and modest territorial aspirations, and Israel's continuing efforts to establish lasting peace with its neighbors.

Nevertheless, a state of war existed between the two countries from 1948 until the treaty was signed.

Memoir writers and political analysts have identified a number of "back-channel" and at times clandestine communications between the two countries, often resulting in limited accommodations even during times of war.

After the Fedayeen attacks from Jordan decreased as a result of the victory of Israel in the Suez War of 1956, the tense relations between Israel and Jordan following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war started to ease off. In the 1967 Six Day War, Jordan aligned itself with Nasser's Egypt despite an Israeli warning not to get involved in the war. This resulted in the fall of East Jerusalem and the West Bank to Israel. Besides the loss of territory, this was also an ecomonic loss to the kingdom since much of the kingdom's economy was based in the West Bank.

In 1970 King Hussein waged the war of Black September against the PLO, ejecting the organization which was in real danger of usurping Hussain's rule over his country. During the events of Black September, Syrian troops invaded the kingdom, threatening to further destabilize the King's situation. In response, the Israeli Air Force made a series of overflights over the Syrian forces, prompting them to return to Syria.

The war against the PLO terrorist factions may have strengthened the connections between Israel and Jordan. Some claim that the Mossad gave warning to Hussein about a Palestinian assassination attempt and some also claim that Hussein warned Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in a clandestine face-to-face meeting about Egyptian and Syrian threats prior to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, though his warning went largely unheeded. Hussain's intention was to stay out of the war, however, he did eventually send a force consisting of two of his best units to the aid of Syria when the latter found itself in a dire situation when the Israeli counter-offensive on the Golan Heights threatened a collapse of the Syrian front. It was only with the arrival of this Jordanian as well as an Iraqi expeditionary force that the Syrians finally managed to stop the advancing Israeli army, only 35km from the Syrian capital.

In 1988 there was a proposal for a peace agreement with Jordan in which Israel would give Jordan most of the West Bank, but it wasn't consummated. During that year, Jordan abandoned its claim for the West Bank in favor of a peaceful resolution between Israel and the PLO.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Background to negotiations", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki