Summary
Former commander in the Jordanian Legion, in exile in Egypt, whose published memoirs are a principal source in Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace for the secret negotiations between Israel and King Abdullah in 1948, including the night meeting of 11/12 May 1948 between the King and Golda Meyerson (Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, PDF p.47-49).
Details
- When al-Tal’s memoirs were published, Yedioth Aharonoth (29/5/59) revealed facts connected to them, adding the observations of Moshe Dayan, a participant in the negotiations; Dayan and Walter Eytan praise al-Tal for his honesty in their disclosures (PDF p.47).
- According to al-Tal’s testimony, the Israelis’ presence in the King’s palace was known to many residents of Amman, especially those in close contact with King Abdullah (PDF p.47).
- Al-Tal’s account of the 11/12 May 1948 meeting: Muhammad al-Zubati collected Golda Meyerson, wearing a keffiyeh and aqal, from the Jordan Valley at nine at night; her demands were that the King proclaim peace and not send his army into Palestine, and that he send a governor to rule the Arab part of Palestine in accordance with the Partition Resolution, in return for Jewish Agency agreement to the union of the Arab part with the Hashemite Crown; the King rejected the first demand but committed that the Jordanian and Iraqi armies would stop at the Partition Plan border and not cross it; the meeting concluded at three in the morning (PDF p.48-49).
- Al-Tal records that the meeting did not remain a secret, because the King himself revealed it (PDF p.49).
Related pages
Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, Amir Abdullah, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Walter Eytan