Yasir Arafat has instructed his terrorist corps, Al Fatah, to halt all military operations against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad, Israel has learned.
The Palestine Liberation Organization leader’s move was confirmed by senior Israel Defense Force officers, who briefed the Cabinet Sunday.
The report is the first indication that the PLO is cutting terrorist activities since Arafat explicitly renounced all forms of terrorism at the U.N. General Assembly session in Geneva Dec. 14.
The IDF chief of staff, Gen. Dan Shomron, and other ranking IDF officers said Arafat’s orders have been obeyed. But at the same time, Arafat instructed his followers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to continue and intensify the Palestinian uprising.
The PLO seems to be in a quandary over continuing attacks along Israel’s borders, because it does not want to spoil its newly won dialogue with the United States, based in large measure on Arafat’s renunciation of terrorism.
Arafat has told the Americans, on the other hand, that the uprising is not terrorism and that, in any event, he has no control over it.
According to the IDF officers, the situation on the northern border remains unclear. They said they would not be surprised if some Fatah units joined more radical Palestinian groups attempting to infiltrate. The idea is to see how the United States would respond.
CONTACTS WITH PALESTINIANS
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin is reported to have resumed contacts with non-PLO Palestinians from the territories to explore the possibility of a dialogue excluding the PLO.
According to Haaretz, the meetings have taken place in Rabin’s Tel Aviv office. The Palestinians have not been identified to protect them from reprisals.
One of the subjects discussed is the possibility of local elections in the territories from which a non-PLO Palestinian leadership could emerge, Haaretz military correspondent Dan Sagir said.
The PLO has forbidden discussions about Israeli-sponsored elections. Yet other Israeli officials are talking to Palestinians known to be supporters of Arafat.
Al Hamishmar reported that Deputy Finance Minister Yossi Beilin, a close associate of Shimon Peres, met recently with Palestinians described as pro-PLO centrists.
They included Hanna Seniora, editor of the East Jerusalem Arabic daily Al-Fajr.
In addition, members of the civil administration in the territories, including Shmuel Goren, coordinator of activities, met recently with Arafat supporters, and members of both the Palestinian Communist Party and of Hamas, according to Al Hamishmar.
Hamas, a Moslem fundamentalist group, has challenged the PLO for leadership of West Bank Palestinians.
The Israelis sought to clarify one of the main issues, the “right of return,” which none of the Palestinians seemed willing to forego, the paper reported.
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