Jordan's King Hussein suggested through an intermediary to Yasser Arafat in 1974 that he accept the position as deputy Prime Minister, according to recently released documents quoted by the London Telegraph. The proposal was made to counter the possibility of an Arab government in exile in Judea, Samaria and Gaza that could divide Jordan, where hundreds of thousands Arabs arrived after the Six-Day War in 1967.

Arafat had the backing of Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia to form an independent Arab country. Nothing resulted from the Jordanian initiative.