King Hussein Opens the Door

His hair has grayed perceptibly since 1970 and the lines on his face have deepened. The physical changes are evidence of the strain suffered by Jordan's King Hussein, 37, since he was virtually boycotted by most of his Arab neighbors three years ago as punishment for kicking the unruly Palestinian guerrillas out of his kingdom. Lately, however, Hussein has been displaying an air of quiet triumph. After last month's

Arab summit meeting in Cairo (TIME, Sept. 24), Egypt resumed relations with Jordan; Syria is expected to follow suit and Jordan now hopes that Kuwait may restore the $40 million annual subsidy that it cut off in 1970.

More than that, Hussein told TIME Correspondent Karsten Prager in Am man last week, the reunion was pretty much on his own terms. Not only are the fedayeen still barred from Jordan unless they abide by the King's rules, but Hussein felt sufficiently confident of his government's stability to release nearly 1,000 political prisoners -- most of them Palestinian guerrillas -- in a gen eral amnesty.

"I am not particularly worried by the fedayeen," Hussein told Prager dur ing an audience at Amman's Basman Palace, "but I think there is a certain nuisance value that will continue to ex ist, unfortunately. Still, I believe that somehow in the future, possibly as a result of their experiences, Arab states will realize that they cannot leave the matter of their relations as states in the hands of irresponsible elements."

The fedayeen, Hussein went on, were free to return to Jordan -- if they behaved. "As far as Jordan is concerned, there is every intention and desire to open the door to any of our people who want to come back and be useful, contributing citizens in this country. But on the basis of the past and its experiences, we will never under any conditions permit loopholes to exist -- as they existed in the past -- that might threaten to bring about dangers to our very existence, to the national unity of our people, to the sovereignty of our state."

The King made several other points during a wide-ranging discussion on the Middle East.

ON HIS PROPOSAL FOR A FEDERATED JORDAN: "I believe very firmly that relations between east and west Jordan, between Jordanians and Palestinians, are extremely strong and unbreakable.

And I believe there is a general attach ment on the Palestinian side to their identity and obviously to their land. I think the plan has a lot of merit. In fact, it was drawn up by Palestinians them selves in the country [Jordan] in which the overwhelming majority of Palestinians live."

ON AMERICAN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: "The U.S. has shown every genuine desire to solve problems that threat en world peace. It cannot go against its policy here. If the U.S. and the world and we, for that matter, reject blackmail -- the U.S. regards oil diplomacy, for ex ample, as blackmail -- I do not think the U.S. and the world should tolerate Israeli blackmail in terms of Israel's military stance and the possibility of its use."

ON OIL AS A POLITICAL WEAPON:

"There certainly is a link of interest in terms of energy, the need for it, and Arab oil. I would hope that this could help bring about better understanding, bet ter cooperation. But I believe that any ill-considered measures [on the part of the Arabs] would certainly affect relations and cause setbacks to our efforts."

ON ISRAELI-OCCUPIED TERRITORIES:

"Uneasiness grows regarding the occupied territories, the changes that are occurring there continuously -- in the face of the United Nations, in the face of world opinion -- and obviously the frustration grows as well. If that is the trend, there is obviously also a feeling of danger, the danger that Israel represents in terms of the record of the past and its gradual growth in terms of the occupation of Arab territories and the declaration of extreme positions."

ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS: "I believe very firmly and honestly that Israel has not made any contribution whatsoever toward peace. I believe that the basis of a solution most obviously is the acceptance by Israel of 242 [U.N. Security Council Resolution 242] and the principles it contains. It offers the Israelis a great deal, and it offers the Arabs their rights. If this is unacceptable, if the Israelis continue to create changes and new facts in the occupied territories, I do not see how we are ever going to get out of this problem without a fresh disaster of great magnitude."

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