King Hussein, frustrated by Yasser Arafat's ambiguity…

King Hussein, frustrated by Yasser Arafat's ambiguity regarding the PLO's recognition of Israel and renunciation of terrorism, repudiates the Amman agreement with Arafat and breaks off negotiations with the PLO in February 1986.

Although the king is careful not to expel the PLO from Jordan entirely, despite an increase in guerrilla violence in the West Bank, he does order the closure of the PLO offices in Amman.

In a complete turnaround in the Jordanian policy that has been followed since the Arab summit at Rabat in 1974, Hussein declares that he will now be responsible for the economic welfare of the West Bank Palestinians.

In addition, the king announces that the West Bank will be included in an upcoming five-year plan for Jordan and approves an increase in the number of Palestinian seats (to about half) in an enlarged National Assembly.

His goal is to create a Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli administration that will make the West Bank independent of the PLO and enable him to reach a settlement with Israel, in which he will regain at least partial sovereignty of the area.