Jordan Times
Monday, January 26, 1998
Israel's defence minister expected to hold talks with
King today
By Alia A. Toukan
AMMAN - Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai is expected to
visit Amman today for talks with King Hussein amidst controversy
over the extent of the next troop redeployment in the West Bank,
officials told the Jordan Times Sunday.
One official said discussions will focus on the stalled Middle
East peace process. No further details on the talks were
disclosed, the latest in a string of recent meetings between the
King and Israeli politicians.
Mr. Mordechai is considered to be the only remaining moderate in
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's hard-line cabinet,
after last month's resignation of Foreign Minister David Levy in
protest over the government's tough budget and peace policies.
He has threatened to resign if the long-delayed troop
redeployment does not take place in the next three months.
Mr. Levy's resignation and stalled peace efforts have raised
Jordanian fears of a complete breakdown on the
Palestinian-Israeli track, at a standstill since the January 1997
Hebron accord.
King Hussein has held separate meetings over the last few weeks
with Labour leader Ehud Barak, Knesset Speaker Dan Tichon, and a
top-delegation from the Shas Party, part of the ruling coalition
government.
Officials have said the meetings were part of Jordanian efforts
to maintain continuous dialogue with "different shades of
opinion in Israel."