by Avi Shlaim
31. Harrison M. Symmes to secretary of state, 20 December 1968, POL 27–14 ARAB-ISR/ Sandstorm, Box 1841, USNA. Emphasis in the original.
32. ‘Charles – from December 1968 to the end of August 1969’, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.; and Remez to the Foreign Ministry, 27 January 1969, ibid.
35. ‘Charles – from December 1968 to the end of August 1969’, ibid.
36. Ibid. Not wanting Allon to feel left out, Hussein looked around, found a rifle, and gave it to him as a present.
37. Barbour to secretary of state, 18 April 1969, POL 27–14 ARAB-ISR/Sandstorm, Box 1841, USNA.
38. Rogers to Tel Aviv, 19 April 1969, POL 27–14 ARAB-ISR/Sandstorm, Box 1841, USNA.
39. Golda Meir, My Life (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975), 312.
40. Interview with Simha Dinitz.
41. Philip Adams, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1969’, FCO 17/1039, Public Record Office (PRO).
42. ‘Charles – from December 1968 to the end of August 1969’; and Remez to prime minister, 24 April 1969, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
43. Raad Alkadiri, ‘Strategy and Tactics in Jordanian Foreign Policy 1967–1988’ (unpublished D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford, 1995), 36–7.
44. ‘Charles – from December 1968 to the end of August 1969’; and Remez to prime minister, 25 April 1969, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
45. ‘Charles – from December 1968 to the end of August 1969’, ibid.
46. Philip Adams, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1969’, FCO 17/1039, PRO.
47. ‘Charles – from December 1968 to the end of August 1969’, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
48. Philip Adams, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1968’. This document was missing from the Public Record Office. I am grateful to Ms Penny Prior of the Records and Historical Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for sending me a copy of their last copy.
49. Philip Adams, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1969’, FCO 17/1039, PRO.
50. ‘Sharif NASIR bin Jamil’ [n.d.], NSF Country File, Box 147, LBJL.
51. Private information.
52. Philip Adams, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1969’, FCO 17/1039, PRO.
53. London to prime minister, 18 September 1969, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
54. Odell to secretary of state, 30 August 1969, POL 27–14 ARAB-ISR/Sandstorm, Box 1841, USNA.
55. ‘Jordanian-Israeli Settlement’ [no author and n.d.], POL 27–14 ARAB-ISR/Sandstorm, Box 1841, USNA.
56. ‘Meeting with the colleague of Chaim and the adviser on 28.9.69’; and ‘Report on Jordan following the talk on 28.9.69 with the colleague of Chaim and the adviser’, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
57. ‘Report on Jordan following the talk on 28.9.69 with the colleague of Chaim and the adviser’, ibid.
58. Mahmoud Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East (London: Quartet, 1981), 117.
Chapter 14: Civil War
1. J. F. S. Phillips, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1970’, FCO 17/1411, Public Record Office (PRO).
2. Yezid Sayigh, Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949–1993 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997).
3. Helena Cobban, The Palestinian Liberation Organisation: People, Power and Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 48–9.
4. Malcolm H. Kerr, The Arab Cold War: Gamal Abd al-Nasir and His Rivals 1958–1970, 3rd ed. (London: Oxford University Press, 1971), 142.
5. Kamal S. Salibi, The Modern History of Jordan (London: I. B. Tauris, 1993), 233.
6. Moshe Zak, ‘Israeli-Jordanian Negotiations’, Washington Quarterly, 8:1 (Winter 1985).
7. J. F. S. Phillips, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1970’, FCO 17/1411, PRO.
8. ‘Message transmitted by Zurhellen 0245 A. M. 4 June’, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
9. Barnes (Tel Aviv) to FCO, 5 June 1970, FCO 17/1066, PRO.
10. Interview with Marwan Kasim.
11. Interview with King Hussein bin Talal.
12. Salibi, The Modern History of Jordan, 233.
13. ‘No. 146, 9 June 1970’, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
14. Barnes (Tel Aviv) to FCO, 12 June 1970, FCO 17/1066, PRO.
15. ‘Protocol of the Meeting of the IDF General Staff, 15 June 1970’.
16. J. F. S. Phillips, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1970’, FCO 17/1411, PRO.
17. Major-General Aharon Yariv’s report, ‘Protocol of the Meeting of the IDF General Staff, 22 June 1970’.
18. Roland Dallas, King Hussein: A Life on the Edge (London: Profile Books, 1999), 133.
19. Henry Kissinger, White House Years (Boston: Little Brown, 1979), 595–6.
20. Ibid., 597.
21. Interviews with Prince Talal bin Muhammad and Natheer Rasheed.
22. Interview with King Abdullah bin Hussein.
23. One story that Sharif Nasser’s subordinates liked to repeat was of a trip to the northern front to plan a strategy to repel a Syrian invasion. One staff officer raised his hand and said, ‘How do we retreat?’ Sharif Nasser pulled out a Sten gun and emptied the magazine over the heads of his staff. Everybody took to the ground and he shouted, ‘Next time I hear someone mention retreat, I won’t miss!’ Interview with Prince Talal bin Muhammad.
24. Oriana Fallaci, ‘An Interview with King Hussein: “I am prepared to confront anyone who tries to expel me”, Ma’ariv, 12 June 1970.
25. Interview with Prince Raad bin Zaid.
26. Salibi, The Modern History of Jordan, 234.
27. Chronology, ‘Jordan: Annual Review for 1970’, FCO 17/1411, PRO.
28. Sayigh, Armed Struggle and the Search for State, 263.
29. Interview with Ali Shukri.
30. Kissinger, White House Years, 599.
31. Interview with Natheer Rasheed.
32. Philip Geyelin’s interview with Adnan Abu-Odeh, 20 July 1988, ‘The Papers of Philip Geyelin’, Middle East Centre Archive, St Antony’s College, Oxford.
33. Patrick Seale, Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East (London: I. B. Tauris, 1988), 158.
34. Interview with Adnan Abu-Odeh.
35. Peter Tripp in interview for the BBC2 historical documentary programme UK Confidential, broadcast on 1 January 2000.
36. Secretary of state to prime minister, 21 September 1970, PREM 15/124, PRO.
37. CM (70), 20th Conclusions. ‘Conclusions of a Meeting the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street, S.W. 1, on Monday, 21 September, 1970, at 10.30 a.m.’, PRO.
38. Ibid.
39. Richard M. Nixon, The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1978), 483.
40. Mahmoud Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East (London: Quartet, 1981), 162.
41. Kissinger, White House Years, 614.
42. Ibid., 621–4.
43. Moshe Zak, Hussein oseh shalom [Hussein Makes Peace] in Hebrew (Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1996), 125.
44. Yaacov Herzog to Golda Meir, 25 September 1970, ‘Memo on US-Israel Contacts on Syrian-Jordan Situation’, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
45. ‘Protocol of the Meeting of the IDF General Staff, 21 September 1970’.
46. ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
47. Oral History Project, Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, Jerusalem. Fifth interview with Yigal Allon, 4 June 1979, 5001/19, Israel State Archives (ISA), Jerusalem.
48. Quoted in Yaacov Herzog to Golda Meir, 25 September 1970, ‘Memo on US-Israel Contacts on Syrian-Jordan Situation’, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
49. Interview with Zaid Rifa’i.
50. Kissinger, White House Years, 628.
51. The excel Years War, transcript of interview for the s
ix-part BBC television series, Middle East Centre Archive, St Antony’s College, Oxford (1998), Mordechai Hod, commander of the IAF, 21 January 1997.
52. Interview with Natheer Rasheed.
53. Interview with Prince Raad bin Zaid.
54. Sayigh, Armed Struggle and the Search for State, 264.
55. Israeli intelligence thought that the man to watch in the Iraqi Ba’th Party was another member of the Takriti clan: Saddam Hussein. ‘Protocol of the Meeting of the IDF General Staff, 26 October 1970’.
56. Sayigh, Armed Struggle and the Search for State, 268.
57. ‘Middle East: A Secret Rendezvous’, Time, 23 November 1970.
58. ‘Meeting on the initiative of Charles and the adviser with Allon and Herzog, Saturday evening, 3.10.70’, ‘The Private Papers of Yaacov Herzog’, Jerusalem.
59. Oral History Project, Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, Jerusalem. Fifth interview with Yigal Allon, 4 June 1979, 5001/19, ISA.
60. Raad Alkadiri, ‘Strategy and Tactics in Jordanian Foreign Policy 1967–1988’ (unpublished D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford, 1995), 55–6.
61. Interview with Mreiwad al-Tall.
62. Asher Susser, On Both Banks of the Jordan: A Political Biography of Wasfi al-Tall (London: Frank Cass, 1994), 154.
63. Interview with Abdullah Salah. Salah was at the scene of the murder and suffered a minor injury.
64. Susser, On Both Banks of the Jordan, 168–9.
Chapter 15: The United Arab Kingdom Plan
1. B. L. Strachan to R. M. Evans, 4 December 1970, FCO 17/1201, Public Record Office (PRO).
2. Interview with Zaid Rifa’i.
3. J. F. S. Phillips to A. D. Parsons, 11 November 1971, FCO 17/1504, PRO.
4. J. A. Fortescue, ‘Record of Conversation between King Hussein of Jordan and His Majesty’s Ambassador, Paris, on 15 December 1970’. FCO 17/1101, PRO.
5. The text of King Hussein’s speech is reproduced in Journal of Palestine Studies. 1:4 (Summer 1972).
6. The text of the PLO statement is reproduced in ibid.
7. Newspaper cutting [no title, n.d.], FCO 17/1687, PRO.
8. Summary of the Arabic language press comments on the Hussein plan, 12 April 1972, FCO 17/1687, PRO.
9. Barnes to FCO, 16 March 1972, FCO 17/1687, PRO.
10. Mohamed Heikal, The Road to Ramadan (London: Collins, 1975), 120–21.
11. Algiers to London, 17 March 1972, FCO 17/1687, PRO.
12. Kamal S. Salibi, The Modern History of Jordan (London: I. B. Tauris, 1993), 254.
13. Alan Hart, Arafat: A Political Biography, revised ed. (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1994), 219–20.
14. Sunday Times, 15 June 1969, as quoted in David Hirst, The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East (London: Faber and Faber, 1977), 264.
15. Interview with Simha Dinitz.
16. Moshe Zak, Hussein oseh shalom [Hussein Makes Peace], in Hebrew (Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1996), 192–3.
17. Interview with King Hussein bin Talal.
18. Phillips to FCO, 23 November 1970, FCO 17/1066, PRO.
19. Zak, Hussein oseh shalom, 46,161–3,179–80.
20. Ibid., 16, 35, 46, 162–3, 227; and Moshe Zak’s handwritten notes on the protocol of the meeting of 21 March 1972 in ‘The Private Papers of Moshe Zak’, Ramat Aviv. I am grateful to Sarah Zak for giving me access to the papers of her late husband.
21. Zak, Hussein oseh shalom, 162.
22. H. G. Balfour-Paul to A. D. Parsons, 2 October 1972, FCO 17/1693, PRO.
23. John Phillips to Sir Alec Douglas-Home, 3 July, 1972, FCO 17/1689, PRO.
24. H. G. Balfour-Paul to the secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, ‘Jordan: First Impressions’, 26 September 1972, FCO 17/1690, PRO.
Chapter 16: The October War
1. Yehuda Lukacs, Israel, Jordan, and the Peace Process (New York: Syracuse University Press, 1999), 3.
2. Henry Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1982), 218–19. Emphasis in the original.
3. Ibid., 219–20.
4. Ibid., 461.
5. Moshe Zak, Hussein oseh shalom [Hussein Makes Peace], in Hebrew (Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1996), 46–7, 163.
6. Samir Al-Rifa’i, ‘The 1974 Rabat Conference: A Crucial Arab Summit’ (unpublished M.Phil. thesis, University of Cambridge, 1989), 38–41.
7. Ibid., 41–2.
8. Ibid., 42–3.
9. Abu Iyad and Eric Rouleau, My Home, My Land: A Narrative of the Palestinian Struggle (New York: Times Books, 1978), 121–2.
10. Interview with Sharif Zaid bin Shaker.
11. General Fathi Abu Taleb confirmed to Adiba Mango, my research assistant, on 15 December 2002 that he had accompanied King Hussein and Zaid Rifa’i to the meeting in Israel on 25 September 1973 but he refused to talk about it and he declined my request for an interview.
12. Gai Gavra, ‘The Hussein-Golda Meeting on the Eve of the Yom Kippur War’, in Hebrew (unpublished BA thesis, Tel Aviv University, 2000). I am grateful to Gai Gavra for giving me a copy of his well-researched and highly informative 116-page paper.
13. Ibid., 47.
14. Ahron Bregman, Israel’s Wars 1947–1993 (London: Routledge, 2000), 77.
15. Gavra, ‘The Hussein-Golda Meeting on the Eve of the Yom Kippur War (Hebrew)’, 62.
16. Conversation with Shlomo Gazit, former director of military intelligence, Oxford, 25 September 1999.
17. Interview with King Hussein bin Talal.
18. Interview with Zaid Rifa’i.
19. Eli Zeira, Milchemet Yom ha-Kippurim: Mytos mul Metsiut [The Yom Kippur War: Myth against Reality], in Hebrew (Tel Aviv: Yediot Aharonot, 1993), 95–9.
20. Interview with Mordechai Gazit. Gazit elaborated on some of these points in an unpublished paper entitled ‘The Yom Kippur War: A Critical Look at Commonly Accepted Assumptions’. I am grateful to Mordechai Gazit for putting at my disposal a copy of this paper.
21. Raad Alkadiri, ‘Strategy and Tactics in Jordanian Foreign Policy 1967–1988’ (unpublished D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford, 1995), 78–9.
22. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval, 500.
23. Zak, Hussein oseh shalom, 135.
24. Mohamed Heikal, The Road to Ramadan (London: Collins, 1975), 221–2.
25. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval, 506.
26. Interview with Prince Talal bin Muhammad.
27. Moshe Dayan, Avnei Derekh: Otobiographia [Milestones: An Autobiography], in Hebrew (Tel Aviv: Yediot Aharonot, 1976), 542.
28. Zak, Hussein oseh shalom, 136–7.
29. Chaim Herzog, The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East (New York: Vintage Books, 1982), 303.
30. Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Behind the Uprising: Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians (New York: Greenwood Press, 1989), 121–2.
31. Heikal, The Road to Ramadan, 236.
32. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval, 540.
Chapter 17: The Road to Rabat
1. Interview with King Hussein bin Talal.
2. Henry Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1982), 655.
3. Samir Al-Rifa’i, ‘The 1974 Rabat Conference: A Crucial Arab Summit’ (unpublished M.Phil. thesis, University of Cambridge, 1989), 54–7.
4. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval, 846–8.
5. Oral History Project, Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, Jerusalem. Fifth interview with Yigal Allon, 4 June 1979, 5001/19, Israel State Archives (ISA).
6. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval, 848.
7. Zaid Rifa’i told me that after every meeting with the Israelis, he would give His Majesty a typed report in English and that the king kept these reports with his private papers at home rather than in the royal court. When I interviewed King Hussein at Buckhurst Park, on 3 December 1996, he said he had all his notes back home in Amman and that he would be more than happy to check them for me. Unfortunately, I was
too slow and by the time I was ready to follow up, the king was seriously ill with cancer. After the king’s death, I did my best to gain access to his notes and reports about the secret meetings but without any success. No one seemed to know where these papers were and indeed whether they had survived at all. The people I approached included half a dozen court officials as well as Zaid Rifa’i, Queen Noor and King Abdullah bin Hussein.
8. Interview with Mordechai Gazit.
9. Interview with Adnan Abu-Odeh.
10. Moshe Zak, ‘Fruitless Bargaining with King Hussein’, Jerusalem Post, 27 September 1991.
11. Extracts from the record of the meeting with King Hussein on 7 March 1974, ‘The Private Papers of Moshe Zak’, Ramat Aviv, Israel. Moshe Zak was given access to the classified protocols of all the secret meetings between Israeli officials and King Hussein. As the talks were in English, the protocols are also in English. Zak, however, made notes on these protocols in Hebrew. I retranslated the above extracts from Hebrew into English because I had no access to the original English version.
12. Interview with Mordechai Gazit.
13. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval, 1,037.
14. Ibid., 1,038.
15. Shimon Peres, David’s Sling (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1970), 259.
16. Ibid., 976.
17. Interview with Dan Patir.
18. Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Behind the Uprising: Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians (New York: Greenwood Press, 1989), 127–9.
19. Ibid., 129–30; and Shimon Peres, Battling for Peace: Memoirs (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1995), 165,301.
20. Matti Golan, Shimon Peres: A Biography (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1982), 153–4.
21. Interviews with Zaid Rifa’i and Mreiwad al-Tall.
22. Al-Rifa’i, ‘The 1974 Rabat Conference: A Crucial Arab Summit’, 68–77.
23. Interview with Zaid Rifa’i.
24. Madiha Rashid Al Madfai, Jordan, the United States and the Middle East Peace Process 1974–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 21.
25. Interview with King Hussein bin Talal.
26. Interview with Prince Talal bin Muhammad.
27. Interview with Dr Kamel Abu Jaber.
