The PLO scored another major achievement when the Arab leaders, at their summit conference in Rabat, decided to affirm the right of the Palestinians, under PLO leadership, to set up an independent national authority in areas that might be evacuated by Israel. This in fact excluded Jordan from an effective role in the future of the West Bank or as a major factor in the peace making process. A victory for the radical, so-called "rejectionist", Arab states, it came as major blow to King Hussein, to the United States and also to President Sadat.
The conference
A. Affirms the Palestinian people's right to its homeland and its right to self-determination.
B. Affirms the right of the Palestinian people to set up an independent national authority under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, on any liberated Palestinian land. The Arab countries will support such an authority once it is established in all spheres.
C. Support for the Palestine Liberation Organization in exercising its national and international responsibilities within the framework of Arab commitments.
D. Calls upon the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization to outline a joint formula for the coordination of their relations in the light of these decisions, and for their implementation.
E. All the Arab countries undertake to consolidate the national Palestinian unity and avoid intervention in the internal affairs of the Palestinian action.