New hope in Middle East
At the end of their meeting yesterday Israel and Jordan appeared to be bathing in a bit more light from the end of the tunnel of the Middle East crisis.
They made some progress although many of the problems they discussed were exceedingly tough ones to unravel. Since the beginning of peace efforts, the two sides have strived to make the first round of talks a success.
And, indeed, the hope for peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors has seemed considerably brighter since last September when the Zionist state reached an accord with the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Washington. But the march to the common border, where the Israeli and Jordanian delegates met on Monday and Tuesday, has been very slow. The first agreement reached between Israel and Egypt took place at Camp David, the United States, in 1968.
This slowness is the very reason why the Israeli-Jordanian talks have gained wide support from other countries. U.S. President Bill Clinton has jumped onto the bandwagon by committing himself to help Jordan economically, either by canceling debts or other methods. The promise is something King Hussein must have hoped for because his country has suffered economic hardships since he supported Iraq in the Gulf War.
Both Jordan and Israel have faced complex issues. But the most positive element at the beginning of the discussions was that the two parties did not have to start from scratch. They had earlier agreed on an agenda and even a common sub-agenda on borders, other territorial matters and security, as well as the environment and water, the most crucial problems they are facing.
Both have to bargain on Jordan's demands for the return of occupied land and a better share of scarce water supplies. Israel has said: "No country can say where exactly the boundary is." And Jordan has retorted: "It's Jordanian land and there is no trade on it."
The disputed water sources are seen as the lifelines of both of the peoples. But even the Yarmuk and Jordan rivers will not supply enough of the precious liquid for everybody forever. Even should these nations reach an accord on sharing the water resources, they will have to maximize availability and develop new resources later.
As a sign of their seriousness, Jordanian delegates brought maps of the disputed border to yesterday's talks. They clearly wanted back 385.9 square kilometers (154.3 square miles) of land along the cease-fire line, most of it between the Red and Dead seas, taken by Israel after the 1967 Middle East war.
Nonetheless, the two delegations voiced confidence that a peace treaty would be reached, with Israel saying it was only a matter of months.
The theme of economy is to be taken up today in three-way talks in Jordan between Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
And King Hussein will hold a White House summit with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Monday, their first public meeting.
In the meantime, the success of the two days of talks, yesterday and today, will surely provide U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who is in Damascus, with more leverage for further nudges toward a lasting peace.
And it seems feasible, with Christopher saying he has seen a ray of hope in Israel's recognition of Syrian sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which it occupied following the 1967 war.
So with all the steps in the right direction, it seems now that Christopher is expected to bring the Syrians and Israelis ever closer to peace.
The solution of their problem will enable Israel and the Arabs to pay more attention to hashing out some sort of compromise over Lebanon and Jerusalem, the holy city of Jews, Christians and Moslems alike. And that will beyond all doubts prove the toughest hurdle of all because the Palestinians want to make the revered site their capital.