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Ann Arbor, MI 48106 SUB-ROSA PEACE: THE DYNAMICS OF ISRAELI-JORDANIAN FUNCTIONAL COOPERATION, 1967-1988 by Yehuda Lukacs submitted to the Faculty of the School of International Service of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations Signatures of Committee: Chair: &*^ /2 ^ &L*^—A /**//>**, >^ OJ um)k~-— DeaJean of the College or School Date y 1989 "704^ The American University Washington, D.C. 20016 "••taftttCBnwn, iTBmtw (c) COPYRIGHT by YEHUDA LUKACS 1989 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED To Louise Noakes, whose love I treasure, and to the memory of my parents, Katalin and Laszlo Lukacs SUB-ROSA PEACE: THE DYNAMICS OF ISRAELI-JORDANIAN FUNCTIONAL COOPERATION, 1967-1988 BY Yehuda Lukacs ABSTRACT This study is devoted to examining Israeli-Jordanian relations from the end of the 1967 war to Jordan's political and administrative disengagement from the West Bank in July 1988. The underlying argument is that, despite the formal state of war between Israel and Jordan, the two countries have engaged in a policy of functional cooperation resulting from a perception of shared interests. This paradoxical type of relationship between adversaries is not uncommon in international politics. In this respect, this study provides an example of the discrepancy between announced policy and actual behavior. This study- examines three hypotheses. The first states that Israeli-Jordanian relations can be best understood in terms of their interdependence and corresponding interests. These arise from the need to maintain quiet on the common border, mutual reliance on certain natural resources, and parallel interests in subordinating the Palestinian national movement. ii The second hypothesis is that Israeli-Jordanian interdependence led to a policy of functional cooperation which has developed after the 1967 war. This functional cooperation reflected the functionalist position within Israel on Israeli-Jordanian relations and on the future of the West Bank. However, other views were also expressed by rival schools of thought — the territorialist, annexationist, and reconciliationist. The functionalist position, which supported Jordanian involvement in the West Bank through the "open bridges" policy was implemented in terms of trade, the movement of people and capital across the bridges, and the coordinated efforts by Israel and Jordan to contain the P.L.O. in the West Bank. The third hypothesis is that functional cooperation between the two countries best explains why the status quo prevailed over the attempts to arrive at an Arab-Israeli settlement during the period under review. Israeli-Jordanian functional cooperation effectively forestalled resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict because it met the immediate needs of both countries without having to end the formal state of war. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Numerous individuals have guided and helped me through the long and lonely process of writing this dissertation. Professor Alan R. Taylor, a true friend, has stood by my side and provided moral and intellectual support. The other members of the doctoral committee, Professors Abdul Aziz Said and Edmund Ghareeb, have been instrumental in the successful completion of this project. Dean Louis W. Goodman should also be acknowledged for his encouragement and support. The Hebrew University's Lady Davis Foundation which provided me with a research fellowship deserves special thanks. So does Dr. Edy Kaufmann, the Executive Director of the Truman Institute at the Hebrew University who enabled me to carry my research at his institute. My deepest gratitude is owed to the dozens of Israelis and Palestinians who generously shared their insights and valuable information on Israeli-Jordanian relations. I am also especially grateful to Mr. Ady Keidar of the Israeli Labor Party, who provided enormous help by arranging many interviews with Israeli officials. iv My friend Andrea Barron, who has written widely on the Middle East, has provided numerous useful comments, both substantive and editorial. Jill MacNeice who is not a specialist on the subject was nonetheless able to offer a refreshing perspective. Ms. Smadar Hochberg from Tel Aviv University was a useful assistant in locating archival material and in providing translations. Finally, this work is dedicated to the memory of my parents and to my partner Louise Noakes. Without her continuous support and love, this dissertation could not have been completed. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES viii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. THE "OPEN BRIDGES" POLICY 49 Aims of the Policy 50 Trade with Jordan 68 Travel across the Bridges 81 The Pilgrimage to Mecca (Haj) 87 Capital Movement Across the Bridges 87 The Dual Legal System 97 Education 108 Towards an Israeli-Jordanian Condominium . 113 Evaluation of the Policy 126 III. FUNCTIONAL COOPERATION 138 Operation Refugee 140 Israeli Aid to Jordan During the Civil War . 154 The Cairo-Amman Bank Agreement 159 Transfer of Israeli Drip-Irrigation Technology to Jordan 166 Eilat and Aqaba: Siamese Twins 170 The Boundless Air Waves 173 The Jerusalem District Electric Company . 181 Sharing the Water 191 IV. THE BEGINNING OF THE PEACE PROCESS, 1967-1970 . 205 Conflicting Interpretations of 242 212 The Jarring Mission 222 The Rogers Plan 239 The Rogers Initiative 248 V. FROM CIVIL WAR TO A FAILED DISENGAGEMENT, 1970-1974 260 vi The.1970 Jordanian Civil War 261 The 1972 United Arab Kingdom Plan 279 The 1974 Israeli-Jordanian Disengagement Efforts 306 VI. FROM RABAT TO JORDANIAN DISENGAGEMENT FROM THE WEST BANK, 1974-1988 337 The Implications of Rabat 339 The 1976 Elections 344 Toward Camp David 360 Beyond Camp David 384 The Reagan Plan and the Failure of the Jordanian-P.L.O. Dialogue 389 The London Agreement 403 Hussein's Fateful Decision 416 VII. CONCLUSION 426 Jordanian Disengagement and Beyond 432 Appendix A. ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK, AND JORDAN 437 B. REGISTRATION FORM FOR "OPERATION REFUGEE" .... 438 C. THE JORDAN AND YARMOUK RIVERS 439 D. LIST OF INTERVIEWS 440 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 442 vii LIST OF TABLES West Bank Exports by Commodity Types (1966) .... 71 Import and Export of Goods — The West Bank (million dollars) 74 West Bank Trade with Jordan, by Commodity Type (percentage) 78 Arrivals and Departures — The Jordan River Bridges 84 Israeli Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca 88 Distribution of Money Changers in the West Bank (April 1986) 94 Net Capital Movements Between the West Bank, Jordan and Israel 95 Estimates of private and official Arab transfers to the West Bank 96 Transfers by the Jordanian Government to West Bank Municipalities 98 Number of Students and Institutions in the West Bank 109 Medical Equipment Sent to Jordan During September 1970 156 Jordanian Commercial Banks and Branch Locations in the West Bank 160 Viewing Survey of Jordanian Television among Israeli Jews 176 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION1 Most authors who analyze the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly those that examine the conflict prior to the signing of the Camp David Accords, tend to view it in zero- sum terms. In other words, they argue that the interests of the protagonists are irreconcilable and hence, describe the conflict as "pure." Recently, however, a number of scholars have begun to examine Israeli-Arab relations from a different perspective. They argue that underneath the patina of irreconcilability, there exist tacit understandings between Israel and her neighbors, Jordan in particular, which have been reached through clandestine diplomacy.2 1 Sub-rosa (under the rose), refers to the ancient custom of hanging a rose over the council table to indicate that all present were sworn to secrecy. The term "sub-rosa" was used in the context of