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regime based on one man who could die any minute and who was entirely dependent on Britain. Second, a political settlement with Jordan was liable to get in the way of a settlement with Egypt, the most important of the Arab states. Third, an accord with Abdullah without peace with Egypt could not end Israel’s isolation in Asia, Africa and Europe. Fourth, such an accord would reinforce Britain’s hold in the surrounding area. Fifth, Ben-Gurion did not want to commit himself to the existing border with Jordan, which he called ‘ridiculous’. In other words, he wanted to leave open the possibility of territorial expansionat Jordan’s expense. 34 This lack of commitment to a political settlement with Jordan was a major factor in the failure of the talks.
    The other principal reason for the failure of the peace talks was Abdullah’s weakness, or what the Israeli Arabists termed ‘the sinking of Abdullah’s regime’. By adding the West Bank and its inhabitants to his kingdom, Abdullah helped to unleash forces that ended up eroding his previously absolute personal rule. In the new political constellation created by the union, he could no longer lay down the law in the arbitrary fashion to which he was accustomed but had to take account of public opinion, of the feelings of his Palestinian subjects, of parliament and above all of the growing opposition among his own ministers to his policy of accommodation with Israel. The anti-peace faction in the Jordanian government, bolstered by the popular anti-Israeli groundswell and pan-Arab opposition to negotiations with Israel, ultimately prevailed. Although the king’s personal commitment to peace was unaffected by the new setting, his ability to give practical expression to it was seriously diminished.
    In the last week of his life Abdullah seemed to have a premonition of his imminent death. On 15 July 1951 Riad al-Sulh, the former prime minister of Lebanon, was assassinated while on a visit to Jordan. In the aftermath of the assassination, the atmosphere in Jordan reeked of resentment, inflamed passions and fears of further violence. Reports of plots against the life of the monarch added to the anxieties of the Jordanian authorities and led them to step up security precautions. Abdullah’s aides pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem for Friday prayers, but he was adamant. Abdullah’s fifteen-year-old grandson, Hussein, was to accompany him on what turned out to be his last journey. Hussein remembered that as they discussed the visit to Jerusalem the sense of foreboding was so strong that even his grandfather – a man not given to unnecessary alarm – seemed to have a premonition of disaster.
    On Friday, 20 July 1951, Abdullah went to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, accompanied by his grandson Hussein and an Arab Legion bodyguard. They entered the vast courtyard surrounding the Muslim Holy Places just before noon. First Abdullah visited the tomb of his father and then proceeded to the entrance of the Great Mosque, where the Koran was being recited to about 2,000 worshippers. As he stepped across the threshold, the old shaikh of themosque, a venerable ecclesiastic with a long white beard, came forward to kiss his hand. The king’s guard fell back, and, as they did so, a young Palestinian nationalist stepped out from behind the massive door of the mosque, pressed a pistol to the king’s ear and fired a solitary shot, which killed him instantly. The king fell forward and his turban rolled away across the marble pavement.
    On hearing the news of Abdullah’s assassination, Ben-Gurion’s first thought was to seize the opportunity to capture Jordanian territory. He asked his military advisers to prepare a plan for the capture of the West Bank. 35 This was abandoned, but Abdullah’s assassination did cause something of a change in Ben-Gurion’s thinking. Until 1951 he had accepted the