Israel and Jordan Sign Peace Pact, Enter New Era : Mideast: In desert ceremony, Rabin and King Hussein end generations of hostility. Treaty adds momentum to process of settling Arab-Israeli conflict.

ARAVA CROSSING, Israeli-Jordanian Border —  Israel and Jordan on Wednesday signed a peace treaty that will launch their countries into an era of cooperation after two generations of hostility, and thus add momentum to the search for an overall settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

With soaring hopes, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan declared their countries not only at peace but also good neighbors interested in the warmest of relations and partners in rebuilding the Middle East as a region of prosperity rather than turmoil.

Beaming at one another like old friends, Rabin and Hussein spoke as men achieving goals of a lifetime--for Rabin, the acceptance of the Jewish state by another of its neighbors, and for Hussein, political, military and economic security for his sometimes wobbly kingdom from a new and strong ally.

Recalling the thousands of Jordanians and Israelis killed in the wars they had waged against each other, Hussein said: “I believe (the dead) are with us as we come together to ensure, God willing, that there will be no more death, no more misery, no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty of what each day might bring.”

Rabin too noted the historic nature of the treaty and its impact on daily life in his own war-weary nation.

“It is not only our states that are making peace with each other today, not only our nations that are shaking hands in peace here in the Arava,” the general-turned-statesman said, addressing Hussein. “You and I, Your Majesty, are making peace here, our own peace, the peace of soldiers and the peace of friends.”

In the treaty, Israel and Jordan acknowledged each other’s sovereignty, thus removing the core issue in the 46 years of hostility between them. They also pledged not to use force or to threaten to do so in resolving future disputes, and Jordan said that it will not join any future Arab alliance against Israel.

Although the accord dealt primarily with bilateral relations, it effectively shifted the balance of power across the Middle East, making it easier for other Arab states to reach the peace with Israel that many desire, making it harder for Syria to exercise a veto over such agreements and making it tougher for the Palestine Liberation Organization to maintain its position as Israel’s principal Arab partner.

“This is peace with dignity,” Hussein said, defying those at home and elsewhere in the Arab world who criticize him for signing a separate peace with Israel. “This is peace with commitment. This is our gift to our peoples and the generations to come.”

Beneath a hot desert sun with a wind whipping pages of the treaty and its many accompanying maps, Rabin signed the accord with Prime Minister Abdul Salam Majali of Jordan to the applause of 5,000 guests from their two nations and 20 other countries.

President Clinton, who had played an important role over the last six months in assuring Jordan of U.S. support if it made peace with Israel, witnessed the signing and praised Hussein and Rabin as “great leaders who saw the bright horizon of this dawn even while the darkness lingered.”

“Peace between Jordan and Israel is no longer a mirage--it is real,” Clinton said after Hussein and Rabin had spoken. “I say to the people of Israel and Jordan: Now you must make this peace real, to turn no man’s land into every man’s home, to take down the barbed wire, to remove the deadly mines, to help the wounds of war to heal. Open your borders, open your hearts. Peace is more than an agreement on paper.”

The ceremony itself was a first joint enterprise.

The arena had been set up by the Israeli and Jordanian armies in what had formerly been a deadly border minefield. Two howitzer batteries, one Israeli and the other Jordanian, fired a 21-gun salute in unison to celebrate the treaty. Thousands of Jordanian and Israeli troops surrounded the Arava Crossing in a coordinated operation.

To make it all very clear, top military commanders from both sides shook hands and exchanged gifts.

“This great valley in which we stand will become the valley of peace,” Hussein said. “When we come together to build it and to make it bloom as never before, when we come to live together as never before, we will be doing so, Israelis and Jordanians together.”

Israel signed its first treaty with an Arab state, Egypt, in 1979.

Last year, it signed an interim peace deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization on Palestinian self-government and is now negotiating expansion of that autonomy.

The agreement with Jordan was probably the easiest for Israel to conclude with its Arab neighbors.

The disputes were few--over a small area of the borders and water resources--and the two countries have had secret contacts for years.

To resolve the disputes along their border, Israel and Jordan exchanged territory in several areas and made the frontier conform to geographical landmarks.

The sharing of water resources was more difficult, but Israel agreed to allow Jordan to take more water from the Yarmuk River and promised to increase the flow of water into the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee to benefit Jordanian farmers.

Backed by all Israelis except the extreme right wing, the treaty has been condemned by the PLO, which objects to the role it accords Jordan in protecting Islamic shrines in East Jerusalem, and by Muslim militants who remain adamant in their opposition to the Jewish state’s existence.

Just before the signing ceremony, radical, pro-Iranian guerrillas in Lebanon fired rockets and mortars into northern Israel, according to Israeli military sources. There were no injuries, and little damage was reported.

In the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank, Palestinians took part in a general strike ordered by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, who met with Clinton in Cairo on Wednesday morning but did not receive an invitation to witness the treaty signing because of his criticism of the agreement.

Clinton, expressing the increased U.S. concern about the growth of militant political Islam, warned Israel and Jordan of an upsurge in terrorism intended to thwart peacemaking in the Middle East.

“The forces of terror will try to hold you back,” Clinton said. “Already they take deadly aim at the future of peace, and in their zeal to kill hope and keep hatred alive they would deny all that peace can bring to your children. We cannot, we must not, we will not let them succeed.”

He had pressed that point during the meeting that he and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held with Arafat in Cairo, urging him to crack down on the radical Islamic Resistance Movement, known as Hamas.

“I felt we got a very firm and unambiguous response,” Clinton told a Cairo news conference. “I am satisfied with the response (Arafat) gave. He understands clearly now that Hamas is the enemy now.”

Arafat, he said, had “started the discussions himself with his desire to combat the terrorist groups, with his willingness to do all that he could.”

“We will all admit that it is impossible to guarantee a 100% success in any effort,” Clinton said. “Even in the U.S. we are not 100% successful in combatting organized crime. What we want is a 100% effort.

“There has been an increasing effort in the last several weeks on the part of Chairman Arafat and the authorities in the territories to do what they can on this problem, and I think it will continue to increase. . . . Terrorists must not be allowed to intimidate the people of the region into abandoning the peace process.”

Before the meeting with Clinton, Arafat told reporters that “my choice is the peace of the brave,” even if it means cracking down on Hamas.

In the Syrian capital of Damascus, however, Hamas vowed to broaden its fight against Israel. “Rabin will be responsible for expanding the arena of battle,” Hamas said, “and there are numbers of Hamas supporters who could reply harshly in any part of the world to which Rabin starts transferring the war.”

Times staff writer Kim Murphy in Cairo contributed to this report.