(Ha'aretz) Aluf Benn - King Abdullah of Jordan on Thursday paid a secret visit to Prime Minister Sharon's Sycamore Ranch in the Negev, where the two leaders held a several-hour meeting. The last time the two met openly was at the Aqaba summit in June 2003. Prior to that, they held at least one secret meeting, on the eve of America's invasion of Iraq. Jordan's main fear is that Israeli disengagement from the territories will encourage Palestinians seeking work to come to Jordan instead. Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, will head for Washington early next week in an effort to reach an agreement with the U.S. administration on diplomatic and security guarantees as compensation for withdrawing from Gaza. Sharon's visit to Washington is planned for March 31.
2004-03-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive