Editing Hussein of Jordan (section)

===Peace with Israel===
{{Main|Israel–Jordan peace treaty}}
{{quote box
| quote  = Peace demands no less courage than war. It is the courage to meet the adversary, his attitudes and arguments, the courage to face hardships, the courage to bury senseless illusions, the courage to surmount impeding obstacles, the courage to engage in a dialogue to tear down the walls of fear and suspicion. It is the courage to face reality.
| quoted = 1 | width  = 35% | align  = right | source = King Hussein during his address to the [[Parliament of Jordan|Jordanian Parliament]] in Amman on 12 October 1991{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=512}}}}

Jordan participated in the imposition of economic sanctions against Iraq even though the sanctions would severely affect its economy.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=478–506}} The effects of the Gulf War, the sanctions on Iraq, and the flow of refugees to Jordan were estimated by a UN report to be $1.5{{nbsp}}billion out of a gross domestic product (GDP) of $4.2{{nbsp}}billion in 1990, and $3.6{{nbsp}}billion out of a GDP of $4.7{{nbsp}}billion in 1991.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} The end of the Gulf War coincided with the end of the Cold War.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} This allowed the United States to play a more active role in solving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} The Bush administration were still angry at Hussein for the Gulf War events but realized they needed Jordan's participation in any peace process.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} Hussein agreed to an American request to join an international peace conference so that Jordan could start repairing its relationship with the United States and end its political isolation.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} Hussein's moves towards democratization in 1989 and his stance during the 1990 Gulf War had won him considerable popularity across Jordan's political spectrum.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} But when Hussein replaced his conservative prime minister, [[Mudar Badran]], with liberal Palestinian [[Taher Al-Masri]], who was in favor of peace negotiations with Israel, the [[Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood|Muslim Brotherhood]]{{snd}}Jordan's main opposition group, who at that time occupied 22 out of 80 seats in the [[House of Representatives (Jordan)|House of Representatives]], and whose members and support came mostly from Palestinians in the country{{snd}}vehemently rejected the new prime minister by voting against him during the [[vote of confidence]].{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} The Brotherhood also refused to participate in the National Congress where the King hoped to gather support for a peace settlement.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}}

Hussein was tasked by the United States with forming a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation to participate in the [[Madrid Conference of 1991|Madrid Peace Conference]].{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} The 28-member delegation consisted of 14 Jordanians and 14 Palestinians.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} Along with solving the Palestinian problem, Jordan sought to safeguard its interests in relation to security, the economy, water, and the environment.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} The peace conference convened on 30 October 1991, with delegations representing all parties to the conflict, the United States and the Soviet Union as co-sponsors, and the United Nations as observer.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} The conference set a framework for negotiations, and PLO representatives offered to accept a Palestinian state under a [[confederation]] with Jordan.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} At home, the Muslim Brotherhood considered Al-Masri and his government as too liberal, and the Brotherhood merged with independent Islamists and formed the [[Islamic Action Front]] (IAF), increasing its representation to 34 in the 80-member House of Representative, a force strong enough to bring down the royally appointed government with a motion of a [[vote of no confidence]].{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} Hussein then replaced Al-Masri with his conservative cousin [[Zaid ibn Shaker]].{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} Subsequent peace talks continued in Washington, D.C., stretching from December 1991 to September 1993.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}}[[File:Hussein Clinton Rabin.jpg|thumb|right|Hussein shakes hands with Israeli prime minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]] during the Washington declaration that ended the "state of belligerency" as American president [[Bill Clinton]] observes, 13 September 1994.]]

Hussein could not participate in the details of the talks, a task he handed to his brother Hassan.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} Hussein was referred to the [[Mayo Clinic]] in the United States after having urological problems; he had his left kidney removed after tests showed his [[ureter]] contained precancerous cells.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} When Hussein went back healed to Jordan, he received a hero's welcome{{snd}}a third of Jordan's population filled the streets to greet him.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} On 23 November 1992 he gave an unusually aggressive speech.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} He called on extremists on both the right and left of the political spectrum to end their opposition to the peace negotiations, denounced what he saw as the Gulf countries' undemocratic nature, and called on Saddam to introduce democracy to Iraq.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} Meanwhile, Yitzhak Rabin, under the leftist [[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]], emerged as prime minister of Israel.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} Thus, the PLO and Israeli representatives were quick to reach an agreement, which culminated in the 1993 [[Oslo Accords]].{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}} The Accords were held in secrecy between Arafat and Rabin without Hussein's knowledge, completely marginalizing Jordan and the Palestinian-Jordanian delegation in Washington.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=507–531}}

The parliamentary elections held on [[1993 Jordanian general election|8 November 1993]] were the first [[multi-party elections]] since 1956, but the [[proportional representation]] voting system was replaced by the controversial [[one man, one vote]] system.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} The latter system was introduced to limit the Islamist opposition's representation in the House of Representatives, by [[gerrymandering]] Palestinian majority areas and encouraging [[Independent (politics)|independents]] over [[Partisan (political)|partisan]] candidates.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} Consequently, the IAF's seats decreased from 34 to 21 seats out of 80.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} On 25 July 1994 Rabin and Hussein appeared at the [[White House]] and signed the Washington declaration, which announced the "end of the state of belligerency".{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} Subsequent negotiations culminated in the [[Israel–Jordan peace treaty]], signed on 26 October in a ceremony in [[Wadi Araba]].{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} The treaty was a culmination of over 58 secret meetings over 31 years between Hussein and Israeli leaders.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} The treaty recognized [[Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem holy sites|Jordan's role in Jerusalem's holy sites]], which angered Arafat who had sought such a position.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} Jordan's relations with the United States greatly improved: $700{{nbsp}}million worth of Jordan's debt was forgiven by the [[United States Congress]], and [[Bill Clinton]]'s administration authorized a substantial flow of aid to Jordan.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} After 1995 Hussein became increasingly critical of Saddam's rule in Iraq.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}}

On 4 November 1995 the Israeli prime minister [[Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin|Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated]] by a Jewish extremist, who aimed to undermine Rabin's peace efforts with the Palestinians.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} Due to the close relationship forged with Rabin during the negotiations of the treaty, Hussein was invited to give a speech during Rabin's funeral in Jerusalem.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} This was the first time Hussein had been in Jerusalem since the 1967 war.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}} Hussein drew parallels between Rabin's assassination and his grandfather's assassination in 1951: "We are not ashamed, nor are we afraid, nor are we anything but determined to continue the legacy for which my friend fell, as did my grandfather in this city when I was with him and but a boy."{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=532–546}}

Jordan's signing of a peace treaty with Israel, and other issues, were met with disdain by Syria's president [[Hafez al-Assad]].{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=547–560}} The CIA handed the King a detailed report in December 1995 warning him of a Syrian plot to assassinate him and his brother Hassan.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=547–560}} A month later, the CIA sent Hussein another report warning Jordan of Iraqi plots to attack Western targets in Jordan to undermine Jordan's security due to its support for the Iraqi opposition.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=547–560}} In Israel, Shimon Peres of the leftist Labor Party and [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] of the right-wing [[Likud]] party, were competing for the post of prime minister.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=547–560}} Hussein's popularity in Israel had peaked after the peace treaty was signed, and he was expected to express support for a candidate.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=547–560}} Hussein initially remained neutral, but later expressed support for Netanyahu.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=547–560}} [[Efraim Halevy]], then head of the Israeli intelligence agency ([[Mossad]]), claims that Hussein had preferred Netanyahu over Peres as he had deeply mistrusted the latter.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/maninshadowsinsi00hale|url-access=registration|title=Man in the Shadows: Inside the Middle East Crisis with a Man Who Led the Mossad|author=Efraim Halevy|publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group|year=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/maninshadowsinsi00hale/page/89 89]|isbn=978-0312337711}}</ref> The Israeli general election held on [[1996 Israeli general election|29 May 1996]] witnessed Netanyahu's ascension to the prime ministry.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=547–560}}