Jordan and the Palestinians will ask the United States to pressure Israel's new hard-line leader to honor agreements made by the previous government, a Palestinian minister said Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to discuss the Middle East peace process with President Clinton on Tuesday during his first visit to the United States since taking office on June 18.King Hussein and PLO leader Yasser Arafat also agreed to work toward ending Israel's closure of Palestinian territories, said Yasser Abed Rabbo, minister of culture and information in the Palestinian Authority.
Israel's sealing of its borders with the West Bank and Gaza Strip followed four attacks by Muslim militants that killed 63 people, including the bombers, in February and March. The security measure keeps Palestinians from jobs in Israel, choking their economy.
The Palestinians want Netanyahu to fulfill agreements that include the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank town of Hebron and talks on the final status of east Jerusalem and Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu also is expected to visit Jordan in the near future, although a date has not been set. Jordan has developed relatively warm ties with the Jewish state since signing a peace treaty in October 1994.
Arafat and Hussein met Saturday for about three hours at Hussein's seaside palace in Aqaba.