Стр. 22 - V

Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
Author : S. Gasratyan
Research associate, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Science, Candidate of Science
(History)
THEIR RELATIONSHIPS have been and re-
main very special. Jordan has never left its anti-
Zionist course but was invariably guided by
practical considerations: Israel's geographic prox-
imity, the pro-Western orientation of King Hus-
sein and very modest territorial aspirations. The
state of war between them which had begun in
1948 ended much later with a peace treaty of July
25, 1994.
Authors of memoirs and political scientists never fail to point out that at all times infor-
mation channels between Israel and Jordan remained open and that in wartime contacts,
albeit limited, were maintained through secret talks.
Israel and Jordan behave like neighbors doomed to live side by side and address common
problems with no love lost between them.
The tension between Hussein and the Palestinians reached the boiling point after the Six-
Day War: In November 1968, the Jordanian army clashed with PLO armed units.
At the peace talks, Jordan pursued a dual aim: stable relations with Israel, its closest neigh-
bor, and a final settlement between Israel and Palestinians.
America planned to achieve the same in regard to Israeli and Jordanian troops with the
goal to sign an intermediary official agreement between them but failed.
The security measures of the Jordan-Israel agreement did not interfere with Jordan's ob-
ligations in its relationships with the Arab neighbors.
The new king vowed to follow his father's foreign policy course and pointed out that the
model created by the joint efforts of Hussein and Rabin had stood the test of time to be-
come an example of how peace should be achieved and preserved. He added that his
country would develop the still untapped potentials of the peace treaty with due account
for domestic and foreign policy factors.
The death of the PLO leader Yasser Arafat opened a new stage in the relations between
Israel and the Arab world.
The relations between Israel and Jordan have been and remain complicated and highly
specific: progress is tortuous while interruptions are frequent and long in full accord with
the far from simple Middle Eastern realities. Israel and Jordan behave like neighbors
doomed to live side by side and address common problems with no love lost between
them.
Israel and Jordan: Partners in Need