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King Hussein: No, sir. The mass of Palestinians is waiting to see who will take the next step. If the Jordanians do so they will move one way, if not, they will move the other direction. As you know, we can stay out.
Prime Minister Rifai: It depends, Mr. President, on which PLO leadership you are talking about. Those in Beirut are certainly not coming together. However, on the West Bank we have as close ties as anyone. Our own members of Parliament live there and come to Amman for Parliamentary sessions in which they participate fully. We pay the civil servants on the West Bank, the teachers, the police, etc. One half of our Cabinet in Amman is composed of Palestinians.
King Hussein: We have more Palestinians in our armed forces than the entire PLO has under arms.
Prime Minister Rifai: The combined armed forces of all the Palestinians do not exceed more than 5,000 men.
The President: What is the total population of Palestinians on the West Bank?
Prime Minister Rifai: There are 750,000 Palestinians on the West Bank and 850,000 on the East Bank.
King Hussein: Yes, there are 1.5 million in the entire Kingdom.
Prime Minister Rifai: We still do a great deal to administering projects on the West Bank. We give loans to mayors and municipalities. In the event of Israeli withdrawal it is quite possible that most of the people will look to us. They may well want to have a larger say than before (illegible text) in running the country and the economy. I don't believe, however, that they will opt for independence.
