The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation described the historic exchange as a kind of "testament for peace" by two leaders who sought to change the region.
Newly revealed documents from a secret November 1993 meeting between then-foreign minister Shimon Peres and Jordan's King Hussein show how the two leaders helped lay some of the early groundwork for the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation revealed on Tuesday, marking the 10th anniversary of Peres's death.
The documents were released on the day of the state memorial ceremony for Peres and the naming of the Jerusalem International Convention Center in his honor. They include excerpts from the minutes of the meeting, which was held at the king's palace in Amman under strict secrecy.
According to the records, Peres's appearance was even altered to prevent identification.
The Peres Center now describes the exchange as a kind of "testament for peace" by two leaders who sought to change the region. During the meeting, Hussein spoke candidly about the urgency he felt and his desire to use the time he believed he had left to advance an agreement.
"Perhaps I have only a year or two left; I will put everything on the line," the king said.
According to the documents, the Jordanian royal palace received a message on October 26, 1993, saying that King Hussein wished to meet with then-foreign minister Shimon Peres. According to the record, Hussein viewed Peres as a creative thinker and was willing to hold a secret meeting as part of the preliminary contacts that ultimately led to the peace agreement signed in 1994.
The meeting did not emerge in a vacuum. It followed years of secret contacts and ties between Israel and King Hussein, including Peres's attempt to advance an agreement with Jordan under the 1987 London Agreement.
About a week after the message was received, the secret meeting took place. The documents state that "he was assured that the visit would be conducted in secrecy and that the necessary measures would be taken to prevent the foreign minister from being identified."
"My assurance that the partnership between us remains intact in no way expresses complacency; on the contrary, it is a dynamic partnership, open to creative proposals, which, from my experience, I know characterize your approach," Hussein told Peres during the meeting.
Peres, for his part, presented his vision of regional economic cooperation that could serve as the basis for a future agreement, including shared infrastructure, ports, aviation, roads, and regional projects.
"We have many dreams and hopes for the future... I share the commitment that there will be change and that the younger generations will have the opportunity to live with a sense of security, which is peace," King Hussein said during the conversation.
The minutes show that Peres proposed preparing an unofficial document, an "informal non-paper," summarizing the subjects discussed and the understandings reached, so that he could discuss them with prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The document states that Peres stressed that he was "working hand in hand with the prime minister," that the two "see eye to eye," and that both felt their time was short and that they were "trying to pull the wagon of peace together."
"Our generation must make difficult decisions before we disappear, and all of this for our children. We must ensure the children's future, so we must not lose momentum. There is a contradiction between the little time available to us and the size of the opportunity before us," Hussein said, emphasizing the sense of urgency.
"History is like a galloping horse. Either you get on it, or you get off, and the horse will continue galloping without you. We do not have much time, and our 'life expectancy' for making peace is limited."
"Your Majesty, there is now tremendous public support for the peace agreement. Young people are fed up with wars, poverty and the absence of freedom," Peres responded.
One of the most personal moments in the meeting came when Hussein referred to the 1951 assassination of his grandfather, King Abdullah I.
"I want to make my position clear. In 1951 there was a tragic event, the murder of my father. I want to bequeath to the future, to my brother Hassan and to the entire government, the best possible legacy. Perhaps I have only a year or two left; I will put everything on the line."
He later said: "When the gaps narrow, the fears will fade, hopes will grow for all the children of Abraham, and the time has come for that to happen."
According to the Peres Center, King Hussein and foreign minister Peres initialed a memorandum of understanding that night. Less than a year later, in October 1994, Israel and Jordan signed their peace treaty in the Arava.
Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, with Peres as his foreign minister, led the diplomatic process on Israel's behalf. The Peres Center stressed that the treaty became one of the foundations of Israel's regional relations for more than three decades, including during periods of crisis and tension.
"It is hard not to be moved when reading the documents from that historic meeting between Peres and the king of Jordan.
The secret meeting reflected Peres's worldview, a man of vision who believed in our ability to change reality," Chemi Peres, chairman of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, said following the release of the documents.
The Peres Center also noted that throughout his life, Peres sought to strengthen Israel's security and international standing, and that alongside his work to advance peace agreements, he helped establish Israel's defense industries and develop the country's strategic capabilities.
"It is a great privilege and a moral obligation to listen to the testament for peace of two great leaders, Shimon Peres and King Hussein. In the meeting, King Hussein says that his days are numbered and that peace is the most important thing they can leave to future generations," Efrat Duvdevani, director-general of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, said.
"The words spoken and written during the secret meeting were part of a process toward the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan, led by prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy."