ABSTRACT
Nineteen eighty-six was a difficult year for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It began with one last intensive effort in Amman to convince the PLO to accept United Nations' Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 so it could participate in the US-sponsored peace process. The Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine believed that Husayn's move opened the door to possible internal Palestinian reconciliation, on condition that the agreement be unequivocally canceled and repudiated by 'Arafat. King Husayn's speech, announcing that he was terminating political coordination with the PLO, was a detailed historical tour d'horizon of his efforts to bring about the return of West Bank. The immediate reaction of the PLO mainstream was to publicly express surprise over Husayn's moves and to downplay their seriousness. There were indications that the PLO leadership was considering closing down the bases of the Badr Forces just before or right after Husayn's speech.
