Undeniably, tension between Israel and Jordan runs deep; Jordan has never recognized Israel, and despite recent peace overtures and a long record of clandestine Hashemite negotiations with Israeli leaders, the two countries technically remained at war at the time this book went to press. Most of the Jordanian population is of Palestinian descent, and the intifada (Palestinian uprising) across the river in the West Bank and Gaza has aggravated internal disputes. In the summer of 1988, King Hussein cut all ties with the West Bank, allowing the Jordanian government to focus its efforts on relieving economic ills and East Bank tensions; recently, however, Amman has started reextending its influence into the West Bank. In April 1989, the country witnessed violent street riots protesting government price hikes.

King Hussein’s rule is a constant balancing act in the face of such pressures. He has accommodated and integrated his Palestinian subjects over the years, opening his cabinet to them as well as to the Bedouin that are the bedrock of the monarchy’s support. Jordan is the only Arab country that will offer Palestinians citizenship. The conservative Hashemites have faced opposition from pan-Arabists, Nasserists, radical Palestinian nationalists, and, most recently, Islamists organized in the Muslim Brotherhood.