Arafat Seeking Closer Ties With Jordan King

KUWAIT —  Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat hopes he and King Hussein of Jordan will open a new page in Jordanian-Palestinian relations when they meet in Kuwait during the fifth Islamic summit conference opening today.

“I think the meeting (with Hussein) will produce agreement, but the important thing is that it results in a new page being opened in Jordanian-Palestinian relations,” Arafat told Kuwaiti newspapers.

Hussein announced last February that he had ended yearlong talks with the PLO chairman on a joint approach to Middle East peace after Arafat again refused to endorse U.N. Security Council resolutions implicitly recognizing Israel’s right to exist but not the right of Palestinians to self-determination.