Befuddled Fedayeen

For the past seven months, a major goal of the Palestinian guerrilla movement has been the release of Abu Daud, an Al-Fatah official, from a Jordanian prison. Last February he was arrested on charges of plotting against King Hussein's regime. A month later, a band of terrorists killed three Western diplomats in Khartoum in a gruesome attempt to force Daud's release. Early this month, another group of guerrillas threatened to throw hostages out of a plane over Saudi Arabia if Daud was not set free. Both times Hussein stood firm. But last week, with nobody holding a gun at his or anybody else's head, the King suddenly pardoned Daud.

Hussein, in fact, declared an amnesty for all Palestinian guerrillas and other political prisoners in Jordan except those convicted of murder or espionage. The pardoned numbered about 970, many of whom had been imprisoned since September 1970, when Jordan launched a drive to expel the fedayeen from its territory (which indirectly led to the founding of the murderous Black September movement). Hussein also extended amnesty to some 2,500 Palestinian guerrillas and others outside Jordan who had been convicted in absentia or were wanted for trial on political charges.

Long a man marked for assassination by Palestinian terrorists, Hussein insouciantly dramatized his forgiveness by sipping coffee with Daud and a few other guerrillas before their release. Outside Amman's dour Mahatta prison, in a swirling dust and under a blazing sun, hundreds of Palestinian refugees and sympathizers danced to the lilting music of a shepherd's flute as they waited for the first prisoners to be freed. Encouraged by television cameramen, many in the crowd chanted "Long live King Hussein."

Hussein's amnesty pleased other Arab countries, as well as Palestinians living under Israeli rule on the West Bank of the Jordan River. Some congratulatory messages from West Bank mayors and other Arab notables were addressed to "His Majesty King Hussein the Great." But the fedayeen seemed befuddled by Hussein's shift and searched suspiciously for hidden motives.

Hardly anybody--Arab or Israeli --accepted Hussein's insistence that his decision had been made simply in the interests of "national unity." A more likely reason seemed to be the interests of international Arab unity. A week earlier, Hussein flew to Cairo for a summit meeting with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Syrian President Hafez Assad (TIME, Sept. 24). The meeting marked the end of Jordan's isolation by much of the Arab world, an isolation that had largely been brought about by Hussein's unrelenting hard line toward the fedayeen.

Egypt and Syria now apparently feel that a united Arab front against Israel is vital. Egypt officially welcomed Jordan back into the fold by resuming diplomatic relations with Amman, and Syria is expected to follow suit shortly.

The royal pardon seemed to be Jordan's contribution to the reconciliation process, even though Hussein made it clear that fedayeen bands would not be free to operate within Jordanian borders.

Pretext Removed. Even the quid pro quo explanation did not satisfy the fedayeen. Understandably. At the same time that their major Arab enemy was tendering an olive branch, one of their most fervent supporters was getting tough. Syria last week curtailed many fedayeen activities within its borders, including some guerrilla training-camp operations; it also closed down a propaganda radio station and confiscated an issue of an official newspaper published by the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Western observers were also puzzled by the Syrian squeeze, especially its timing. One possible explanation is that the Arab nations are determined to contain the fedayeen as they make diplomatic efforts to bring pressure on Israel. What ever the reason, Jordan's amnesty decree at least removes a pretext for some of the terrorism that has hurt the Arab cause in world opinion. Syria's stiffening attitude was aimed at the less tractable fedayeen, and could be designed to build up the importance of the Syrian-dominated guerrilla group, As-Saiqa. If the pressure keeps up, Al-Fatah Leader Yasser Arafat, who also heads the P.L.O., the fedayeen's general front organization, may lose his already shaky grip on other guerrilla factions.

No fedayeen, though, may have been as troubled by the turn of events as Daud. During his imprisonment, he was presented on Jordanian television "confessing" to guerrilla activities and identifying Black September as an arm of Al-Fatah. Other Al-Fatah officials insisted that the "confession" was somehow extorted by Jordan. But last week Israelis were putting out the line that Daud's fedayeen brothers really believed that he made the statements and were waiting to exact vengeance.

"He is ripe for a bullet in the back," said one intelligence source--although not by Israeli agents, he carefully added.

But if Daud suddenly turns up dead, who will know who killed him? Not surprisingly, Daud, as soon as he left prison, slipped past newsmen and disappeared.

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