Middle East: Israel's Response to Hussein

Three weeks ago, it was King Hussein of Jordan who was grabbing the headlines with a new peace initiative. Last week it was the turn of Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who, without making any real change in Jerusalem's position, offered a five-point proposal of his own. Hussein's formulation had called for a series of preliminary discussions leading to a direct meeting between Israel and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation under international auspices. Peres prefers to start directly with talks between the Israelis and the Arabs, with the U.S. as the only outside participant.

The State Department cautiously noted that the Peres proposal "reaffirms our view." Backing away from a congressional fight, the Administration temporarily deferred its controversial plan to sell Jordan advanced weaponry worth as much as $750 million. Instead, it asked Congress to approve $250 million in economic aid for the kingdom, spread over two years. It remains unclear whether Congress will approve the request, which represents a sixfold increase over present levels. Until now, the Senate has shown little interest in awarding more aid to Jordan, maintaining that King Hussein has not done enough to advance peace in the Middle East.