JERUSALEM. Feb 1: Israel accused Syria on Sunday of seeking to destabilise Jordan following the appointment of King Hussein's eldest son. Prince Abdallah, as crown Prince, reports AFP.

Syria and others are trying to exploit the situation in Jordan following the appointment of Prince Abdallah as Crown Prince in a bid to harm the unity of the country," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman David Bar-Illan told Israeli radio.

"Israel is following the situation in Jordan closely, particularly everything concerning the activity of Syria in the coun-try" he added.

The newspaper Haaretz reported Friday that Jordanian leaders fear that "Syrian agents" and their sympathisers would attempt to "test the power and authority of Prince Abdallah."

"Supporters of Syria's ruling Baath Party have considerable

influence In the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan." the newspaper noted.

A career soldier but relative political neophyte , Prince Abdallah. 37, was named crown prince by king Hussein last week, replacing the monarch's younger brother, Prince Hassan.

Crown Prince Abdallah immediately took over as regent as the king rushed back to the United States for more cancer treatment.

Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994.

Stability in Jordan is of strategic importance to Israel, both because of the nation's Palestinian majority and historic role in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and its crucial position as a buffer between the Jewish state and hostile regimes in Iraq and Iran.

Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon said, meanwhile, that Israel believed the situation in Jordan was stable.