Shock and Possibilities

Political shock waves from King Hussein's proposal to reunite Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank are still reverberating through the Middle East. Last week, Egypt abruptly broke off diplomatic relations with Jordan. President Anwar Sadat hinted that he might also close Egyptian airspace to Jordanian aircraft, thereby cutting off the kingdom's only access to the Mediterranean and Europe.

One reason for the drastic move was Egypt's feeling that the Hussein proposal is virtually identical with the Allon Plan--a peace settlement put forward in 1967 by Israel's Deputy Premier Yigal Allon. Although there are major differences between the plans, both envision the creation of an autonomous Palestine federated to Jordan and the return of Jerusalem's Arab sector to Jordanian control.

Despite Egypt's angered action last week, all hope is not lost for Hussein's proposal. Washington regards it as a possible basis for further negotiations. One Israeli official who is particularly impressed by the plan is Allon, who last week told TIME Correspondent Marlin Levin that he was prepared to make further (but unspecified) "compromises" of his own proposal to speed final agreement. "We have peace," said Allon, "but without a peace treaty."

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