THE PALESTINE QUESTION

The present urgent political concerns of Saudi Arabian leaders may be concentrated on the latest Iranian irruption into Iraqi territory,' but not so exclusively that the breakdown of the King Hussein-Yasser Arafat joint peace process is not a matter of equal preoccupation for the Saudi government. Although not directly involved in the past year's negotiations between Hussein and Ararat to hammer out a joint Jordanian-Palestinian approach towards an eventual Middle East peace settlement, Saudi Arabia has lent its diplomatic and political support to the talks, and had hoped that a joint agreement would come about.