Israel and Jordan end their 46-year-old war

ISRAEL and Jordan yesterday initialled a peace treaty to end 46 years of a state of war between the two countries. It was only the second treaty with an Arab neighbour since the foundation of Israel.

President Bill Clinton said it showed an alternative to the hatreds that still stalk the Middle East. He will attend a formal signing on the Israel-Jordan border on 26 October. King Hussein of Jordan hailed the agreement as 'peace with dignity' and the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, called it 'a great historic day'.

But Islamic fundamentalists in Jordan vowed to fight it with every means at their disposal, saying that it marked 'a black day in Arab and Muslim history'.

Their denunciation echoed the outcry that greeted Israel's accord with Egypt, signed in 1979. But King Hussein is certain to win approval for the treaty from at least 55 of the 80 deputies in the Jordanian parliament.

Under the terms of the treaty, Israel is to hand back to Jordan about 130 square miles of mainly arid land which it seized in 1948. The two countries have settled their dispute over water supplies by agreeing to dam the Yarmouk river, which flows into the Jordan.

Israeli sources said they were spurred on by signs of a violent Islamic fundamentalist reaction against Yasser Arafat and the PLO.

Opponents of the PLO's deal with Israel staged a second day of rioting and disorder in the Gaza Strip yesterday to protest against a crackdown on the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, following the unsuccessful attempt last week to rescue an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas.

Israeli authorities last night lifted military censorship to reveal that 1,300 Jews had settled in Israel after being allowed to leave Syria.

46-year war ends, page 10 Leading article, page 13