Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 15, 1993 TAG: 9309150171
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Although on paper the Israeli-Jordanian agreement merely sets out a formal agenda for negotiations, it is the most important step the two countries have taken toward making peace.
Some of the issues in the document essentially have been resolved in negotiations in Washington over the past year. The accord gives both sides the ability to put some of these agreements into effect, a process that could lead to normal relations between the two one-time foes even without formal diplomatic ties and a peace treaty.
Within weeks, the ban on travelers with Israeli stamps in their passports could be lifted, phone and communications links set up, water resources allocated, boundary disputes settled, and joint industrial and maritime projects begun, Jordan's prime minister, Abdel Salem Majali, told foreign journalists.
The breakthrough between Israelis and Palestinians has created a palpable sense of momentum toward peace in the Middle East, tearing down formidable barriers with breathtaking swiftness.
En route home from Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin made a surprise visit to Morocco on Tuesday for talks with King Hassan, an important move toward establishing relations not only with Morocco but with other Arab countries.
In Washington, Yasser Arafat courted Congress, appealing during a breakfast with 20 senators for loan guarantees for the Palestinians and winning a promise that the senators will review American laws that bar financial aid to the PLO. As part of a media blitz to convince skeptics in Washington and in Israel that he will be a responsible partner in peacemaking, Arafat said over lunch at the National Press Club that he believed that even the status of Jerusalem could be resolved.
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