Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948-1953

This book is a refutation of Professor Avi Shlaim's theory of an alleged collusion between the Jews and king Abdullah (Clarendon Press, 1998). Shlaim asserts that to further his own aims of creating a greater Jordanian empire, Abdullah conducted secret diplomacy with David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir and other Israeli leaders in self-serving maneuvers which hastened the partition of Palestine, and left more than a million Palestinian Arabs without a homeland. This book describes the development and vicissitudes of the relations between Israel and Jordan from the end of the British mandate and Transjordan's invasion of Palestine, through the war in 1948, the resumption of a direct dialogue that led to an armistice agreement, the abortive peace negotiations in 1949-51 and the simultaneous escalation of border hostilities. Gelber analyzes the triangle of relationships that developed between Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians; and explains the involvement of Britain, the United States and the inter-Arab system in the shaping of these relations and their subsequent deterioration. Based on Israeli, Arab, British and American archival documents, the book follows the intricate balance between Israeli-Jordanian diplomatic activity, and the realities of Israeli-Palestinian relations along the new armistice lines -- innocent and hostile infiltration, retaliations and reprisals, to their culmination in the tragedy of Qibia in the fall of 1953 and the return of Jordan to the anti-Israeli Arab coalition. The conclusion drawn is that this five-year period saw the apparent indifference of the Great Powers to impose a settlement, a Jordan unsure of its place in the Arab fold, and a confusing situation between Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians over border issues. Gelber finds no evidence of an alleged collusion between the Jews and king Abdullah -- just a tragic unfolding of events that inflamed the still unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict.