The Foreign Minister of Egypt, Kamal Hassan Ali, said here today that the present upheaval inside the Palestine Liberation Organization has paved the way for new momentum in the Middle East peace process.
The visiting Egyptian diplomat, in his discussions with West German leaders, said the PLO can no longer be considered an independent representative body which means that each PLO faction or each group of Palestinians can develop its own representation.
“Maybe the residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will also build their own group and will seek an open dialogue with King Hussein of Jordan,” Hassan Ali suggested. Meanwhile, PLO chief Yasir Arafat, who was ousted from Syria Friday for allegedly accusing President Hafez Assad of fommenting the rebellion against him in PLO ranks, flew to Prague yesterday. He is reportedly seeking support from his Communist bloc friends against the mutineers within his own El Fatah faction. In any event, Arafat has been barred from returning to Syria and so has his deputy, Abu Jihad.
Speaking on other Middle East issues, Hassan Ali said, according to diplomatic sources here, that there must be a link between the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon and the future of the Golan Heights, annexed by Israel in 1981. He said Cairo expected Israel to agree to the principle of territorial concessions in peace talks involving the Golan Heights.
He told reporters here that Egypt’s Ambassador to Israel, recalled after the invasion of Lebanon, would be returned to Tel Aviv. It is merely a question of timing, he said.
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