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Before the Rabat conference began, observers expected that for the sake of unity, the Arab leaders would work out a combined front for negotiations in which all of the confrontation partners would be represented. Hussein, as King of Jordan, would possibly have been chosen by the group to handle discussions with Israel on the West Bank, but he would also have to agree not to reoccupy that territory pending a plebiscite on its status. After the West Bank was returned to his control, Hussein would supposedly relinquish his control over the newly restored area if West Bankers opted for another government. But when the vote was cast last week at Rabat, Hussein was elbowed aside—and he accepted it. Arafat promised to meet with the King to plan a course of action, but how closely they will work together remains to be seen. Some observers at Rabat felt that the $300 million subsidy was Hussein's balm; others suspect that he was persuaded by close allies like Saudi Arabia's King Faisal to make the best of a bad bargain: either surrender his claims to the West Bank to the Palestinians, or run the risk of being ignored and isolated by his more powerful Arab neighbors.
Hussein accepted his defeat at Arafat's hands gracefully in public, but bitterly among intimates. The West Bank is the most prosperous part of Jordan, and without it Hussein presides over a minuscule kingdom. Although the King professed to be glad that he had washed his hands of responsibility for the Palestinians on the West Bank, few believed him. The East Bank of the Jordan, which is not as economically viable as the West, includes about 900,000 Palestinians in its population of 1.7 million.
Some of the King's closest friends and most trusted advisers in Amman are Palestinian. But many Palestinians hate him for having forced the fedayeen—literally, "men of sacrifice" in Arabic—out of Jordan in September 1970 during bloody battles that killed thousands of fedayeen and Palestinian civilians. They despise the King for having met secretly and directly with Israeli leaders from time to time and for not having sent his troops into action sooner and in greater numbers in the October war. Hussein, of course, was engaged in a skillful balancing act that allowed him, despite enemies on either side, to hold onto one of the youngest and shakiest thrones in the world.
Explosive Visit. Even some Israelis sympathized with Hussein. "He is not a King any longer with that little territory," said one. "He is only an Emir." While Hussein appeared to be sinking slowly, Arafat was rising swiftly. As leader of the P.L.O., he presides over its executive committee, whose 13 members include representatives of five fedayeen organizations and West Bank representatives. In the wake of Rabat, some observers expect, the Palestinians will now form a government-in-exile, which Arafat would probably lead.
Next week Arafat, who only a few years ago was living in caves and dodging both Israeli agents and King Hussein's troops, will be honored by the United Nations. It may well be the most colorful and explosive visit to New York City by a foreign leader since the days of Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro. Arafat is