European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 21, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Bazine Middle East cat and mouse game West Bank and Gaza strip area West Bank 2,262 so. Mi., about twice the size of Rhode Island Gaza strip 147 so. Mi., about the size of Detroit. Population estimates vary Between 767,000 and 969,000 on the West Bank and from 493,000 to 559,000 in the Gaza strip. Government the occupied territories Are governed by israeli military authorities and their civil administrators. Ethnic divisions West Bank 88% palestinian Arab 12% jewish 4% bedouin Gaza strip 99.8% palestinian Arab 0.2% jewish. History after four centuries of ottoman turkish Rule Britain gained control of the entire palestinian Region in 1917. The United nations mandated partition of Palestine into Arab and jewish states in 1947. But the arabs claimed the entire Region. Britain withdrew in 1948, followed by the first of a series of Arab israeli wars. In the armistice of 1949, Jordan occupied the West Bank and Egypt occupied the Gaza strip without granting palestinian Chicago Tribune map / autonomy. In the Wake of the six Day War of 1967, Israel occupied the territories. Chicago Tribune graphic sources world almanac and world Facebook King Hussein s decision to sever Jordan s links with the West Bank May pave the Way for the proclamation of an Independent palestinian state in the israeli occupied territories. By Thomas l Friedman new York times in april 1983, Yasir Arafat came to Jordan for series of tense and ultimately futile talks withing Hussein on forming a jordanian palestinian negotiating strategy for dealing with  the Day of their first meeting the Plo Leader s Armor plated Silver Mercedes drove up to King Hussein s Palace. The car door swung open Arafat stepped out and for one moment no one was there to Greet him. A second later King Hussein came Rushing around the Corner As though he had been Reading the morning paper and his wife asked him to go and see who was unexpectedly knocking at the door. Hussein s Ever so slight delay in receiving Arafat was typical of the cat and mouse game this Middle Eastern Odd couple have been playing with each other for years. The Only thing that Ever seems to change is who gets to be the cat and who has to be the mouse. Now it looks like it s King Hussein s turn to Chase Arafat. The King announced he was severing All Jordan s administrative and Legal ties to the West Bank which was ruled by Jordan from 1948 until Israel occupied it in the 1967 War. Henceforth the King declared Jordan will respect the wish of the Palestine liberation organization the sole and legitimate representative of the palestinian people to have exclusive responsibility for looking after the interests of the 900,000 West Bank palestinians and for satisfying their demand for an Independent state. King Hussein s offer to Arafat while seemingly Humble and generous should be viewed with the same suspicion As a cat voluntarily offering a mouse a slice of cheese there has to be a catch. In november 1974, when the Plo was at the Peak of its influence King Hussein stated in an interview published on the front Page of the new York times a new reality exists and Jordan must adjust to it. The West Bank is no longer Jordan and we have no place in the negotiations Over its  that declaration did not Stop him from spending the next 14 years trying to preserve Jordan s place in the West Bank s future. Hussein cannot afford to Cut himself off from the West Bank today even if he wants to anymore than he could have in 1974. About two thirds of Jordan s 2.8 million inhabitants Are palestinian with the remainder bedouins like Hussein. The King cannot allow the creation of an Independent palestinian state in the West Bank under the Plo unless he has a certain measure of control Over it. If he did not that palestinian state would almost certainly attempt to devour Jordan. The King must keep his thumb in the West Bank either to secure his own particular interests or at least for damage control said Asher Susser an expert on Jordan at Tel Aviv University. If Hussein does not maintain a measure of influence Over the determination of the palestinians Fate in the West Bank then they will determine his Fate in the East  King Hussein is nothing if not a survivor. That is Why his latest initiative should be viewed As a move designed to improve his Long term prospects for survival but without relinquishing his ability to influence the West Bank s future. By removing himself from Day to Day involvement in the West Bank Hussein is putting the full responsibility for recovering that occupied territory on Arafat and the Plo. The King knows that even if he followed president Anwar Sadat of Egypt to Jerusalem he could not get Israel to agree to give Back All of the West Bank. Since accepting less than All in return for peace with Israel would make the King vulnerable to criticism from palestinians and other arabs criticism As potentially lethal for the King As it was for Sadat he has apparently decided to leave that decision to Arafat. Now it is Arafat who has to face the Choice of either going Down in history As the palestinian Leader who recognized Israel in return for Only at Best a majority of the West Bank or shouldering full responsibility for the palestinians continuing to get nothing at All. I think the King has decided that no matter what happens he is not going to be the one who negotiates a territorial Compromise said Martin Indyk the executive director of the Washington Institute for near East policy a Washington based research Center. The King was ready to make such a shift Indyk suggested because he believes that in the end Arafat is going to have to come Back to him for help if he wants anything from the israelis. Hussein could exert his influence Over both the Plo and any final settlement at that time. In this line of thinking the King is confident that the Plo will discover it needs Jordan administratively since Jordan still offers the Legal framework within which most palestinians in the West Bank conduct their lives. Even if the Plo found the Money to replace the services financed by the King it would still need Jordan s cooperation for Access to and from the landlocked West Bank Access the israelis Are not sunday August 21, 1988 Likely to provide in the near future. Moreover even if the Plo were formally to recognize Israel that would be enough Only to get peace talks started not finished. To get them concluded the Plo would almost certainly need something that Only Jordan could provide accountability. The Plo is a movement with no return address Jordan is an internationally recognized state that can be held responsible for its actions. Jordan has a proven record of keeping its Border with Israel quiet. Because of Jordan s credibility in israeli eyes it is difficult to imagine Israel relinquishing territory to the palestinians without some Assurance that Jordan would be one of the guarantors of any agreement. For years Israel s liked party has been arguing that the palestinians demand for self determination can be satisfied by turning Jordan into a state called Palestine without Israel s having to give Back the West Bank. At the same time Israel s labor party has argued that palestinian aspirations can be met by giving them a Homeland in part of the West Bank that would then be overseen by Jordan. Hussein sees both these solutions As a threat to the future of his dynasty. When the King declared in his speech that Jordan is not Palestine he seemed to be telling the israelis that while Jordan May need to be a partner with the palestinians in their quest for Independence it is not going to be a substitute for now Arafat has decided to stall by calling for a special meeting in september in Algiers of the Plo s legislature the palestinian National Council. Leading palestinian intellectuals in the West Bank want to see the Plo quickly exploit the King s initiative in order to profit from their eight month old uprising and secure some tangible lasting gains. The palestinians should now use the King s speech to push one step further said Sari Nuseibeh a palestinian philosopher at the West Bank s Bir Zeit University. The time has come for us to declare out own Independent state in the West Bank and to set up a transitional government made up of palestinians in the West Bank and palestinians outside. Arafat now faces a moment of truth. He can respond to the King with some cat and mouse Man Euver of his own. Or As Many West Bankers seem to prefer he can produce a peace initiative that would finally bring the jordanian palestinian gamesmanship to a halt and allow serious diplomacy to begin. A Plo spokesman was quoted last week As saying that a palestinian state in the occupied territories and formation of a government in exile will be proclaimed in Algiers when the palestinian National Council meets the stars and stripes Page 13