AMMAN, 20 August 2004 — Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei yesterday called for “transparent relations” with Jordan, responding to a complaint earlier this month by King Abdallah that the Palestinian leadership was shifting its policies in relation to Israel.
“There is no future for the Palestinians without transparent relations with Jordan,” Qorei was quoted as telling the state news agency Petra after talks with his counterpart Faisal Al-Fayez here. He said relations between Amman and the Palestinian Authority should be based on “mutual respect” and that their coordination should be “regular”. The comments appeared aimed at criticism by Abdallah in an Aug. 3 television interview that more clarity was needed from the Palestinian leadership over its demands, both in terms of land and rights for refugees, in the peace process with the Israelis.
Meanwhile, Jordanian security men were yesterday involved in a massive manhunt for five gunmen who shot and wounded a policeman and seized the patrol vehicle he was driving Tuesday night along the highway between Amman and the ancient city of Jerash, 30 kilometers north of the capital, according to an official spokesman.
The shootout occurred when the police patrol stopped a minibus with five occupants inside, including one with a uniform of a police officer, a spokesman for the Public Security Department said.
“They opened fire from a machine gun and a pistol on members of the patrol, wounded the driver and seized the car,” he added. The spokesman said that the car was found Wednesday afternoon in a mountainous area overlooking Jordan Valley.
