Jordan May Not Pull W. Bank Passports

This government will not withdraw passports from any of the West Bank’s 850,000 residents unless asked to do so by the Palestine Liberation Organization, a Jordanian official said Friday.

“Not a single passport of those we issued to West Bankers will be withdrawn unless the PLO, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, demands that,” he said.

“Of course, if anyone comes to us and says he does not want to retain his passport, we’ll take it back,” added the official, who asked not to be identified.

He did not say if Amman would continue to issue new passports following King Hussein’s decision to cut legal and administrative ties with the Israeli-occupied territory.

Cabinet to Study Issue

But he said the Cabinet will study the passport issue today. “It is a complex issue that needs thorough study before we take measures to enforce the rupture in ties,” he said.

The official said a special committee will be set up to tighten rules that now allow West Bank residents, many of whom have relatives in Jordan, to travel across the Jordan River bridges. He did not say how the rules might be changed but said the bridges would stay open unless the PLO wanted them closed.

The PLO plans to send a delegation to Amman to discuss the implications of Jordan’s actions, but no date has been set.

The official also said a higher committee for the occupied territories would be dissolved. The committee headed by the prime minister was set up after 1967 to set policies on West Bank affairs.