King Hussein of Jordan revealed yesterday that an apologetic Mr Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Jordan in the wake of last month's bungled Mossad hit on a Hamas leader in Amman, but that he was so angry with the Israeli Prime Minister for authorising the operation he refused to meet him.
In his most detailed comments yet on the September 25th Mossad attempt on the life of Hamas official, Mr Khaled Mashaal, the king described the operation as "a slap in the face" for the peace process and the Jordanian people. He said that four days after the operation, Mr Netanyahu came secretly to Amman with other Israeli ministers, to try and repair relations between the two countries.
But the king was not prepared to see Mr Netanyahu, and assigned his brother, Crown Prince Hassan, to handle negotiations with the Israelis - negotiations that led to the freeing by Israel of the jailed Hamas spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, and to the release by Jordan of the two Mossad men captured after the attack on Mr Mashaal.
The king also stated that, two days before the hit, he had sent a telegram to Mr Netanyahu, detailing a Hamas offer for a ceasefire and the opening of negotiations with Israel. Mr Netanyahu's aides claim he did not get this letter until after the Mossad operation, and that it was kept from him by the Mossad. Mossad chief Mr Danny Yatom is said to have regarded its content as "not serious".
The king's public remarks reflect the depth of his anger with Mr Netanyahu, and his scepticism over the Israeli leader's commitment to Middle East peacemaking. Nevertheless, King Hussein and Mr Netanyahu spoke last night by telephone - their ongoing contact underlining their shared interest in preventing a rejuvenation of Islamic militant forces in the aftermath of the Amman fiasco.
The Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, held more than two hours of talks with Mr Netanyahu yesterday, also focusing on the potential dangers resulting from the failed assassination attempt. Although the American mediator, Mr Dennis Ross, spoke cheerfully of "a new beginning" in Israeli-Palestinian relations, this was the first face-to-face session between the pair in eight months, and it was no coincidence that it was finally arranged at this critical juncture.
Elsewhere the temperature was raised when at least two soldiers were killed and nine wounded in a series of Hizbullah attacks deep inside Israel's south Lebanon occupation zone.
The two were killed and nine others wounded, two critically, in an ambush on an Israeli convoy heading towards the Odayseh-Markaba road.
On September 5th, Islamic guerrillas and the Lebanese army thwarted an Israeli commando operation north of the 15km wide occupation zone, killing 12 troops. A week later, four Israeli soldiers were killed in a clash with Hizbullah troops inside the zone.
South Lebanon clashes have killed 48 guerrillas, mostly Hizbullah members, so far this year.