Committee Backs, but Waters Down, Bill to Lift the Ban on PLO Contacts

An Israeli parliamentary panel has taken a big step toward lifting a blanket ban on meetings with Palestine Liberation Organization officials.

But while agreeing to end the prohibition, the Knesset Law Committee on Tuesday watered down provisions of the bill before sending it back to the Knesset floor for its second and third readings.

Under the amended draft, civil servants will need prior authorization to meet with “representatives of terrorist organizations,” and the ban will continue to apply to meeting with representatives of three Moslem fundamentalist groups: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Hezbollah.

Despite the amendments, which were introduced by the opposition, committee Chairman Dedi Zucker of the Meretz bloc expressed confidence the bill would be approved by the full house.

The committee approved the draft after the head of the Shin Bet security service testified on the pros and cons of opening the way to meetings between Israelis and representatives of Palestinian organizations.

On the positive side, the head of the Shin Bet, who is never publicly identified, said lifting the ban would strengthen the PLO in its rivalry with Moslem fundamentalists who oppose peace negotiations with Israel.

But although he presented arguments on the plus side, Knesset members got the impression that he tilted toward a continuation of the ban.

Asked outright for his own opinion on the controversial issue, he said: “This is not my problem. You can decide whatever you want.”

Members of the governing coalition were surprised when one of their colleagues, Knesset member Yosef Azran of the Orthodox Shas party, broke ranks to join the opposition in a vote for the amendments.

Coalition whip Eli Dayan of Labor said he regarded Azran’s action as “very serious.” He said his attempts to reach Shas party leader Arye Deri on the issue had been unsuccessful.

“Shas must decide whether they are in the coalition or not,” said Dayan.