King Hussein of Jordan and Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat held a second day of talks in Amman today in an apparent effort to reach an agreement for cooperation in the Middle East peace process.
The latest talks, a resumption of their dialogue that was broken off last April, seem to have created sharp divisions among Palestinians on the West Bank. Some supporters of Arafat are said to be encouraging him to seek an arrangement whereby Hussein could speak for the Palestinians in peace talks with Israel. Opponents view the Hussein-Arafat meetings with suspicion.
WEST BANK DELEGATION GOES TO AMMAN
A delegation of prominent West Bank leaders went to Amman over the weekend to lend moral support to the talks. They reportedly brought a document signed by West Bankers urging Arafat to agree to a joint course of action with Hussein.
One of them, Mayor Elias Friej of Bethlehem, a Palestinian moderate, said in Amman today that he hoped to see Hussein. He evaded questions from reporters as to whether he would see Arafat. The Israeli authorities, in allowing the West Bankers to go to Amman, imposed a strict ban on any contact with the PLO leader.
The deposed Mayor of Gaza, Rashad A-Shawa, was denied permission by the Defense Ministry to go to Jordan. The Israelis claim A-Shawa is a PLO sympathizer. He has spoken recently of the need for Palestinians to enter a political dialogue with Israel.
CONTACT WITH ARAFAT PROHIBITED
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, coordinator of government affairs for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said today that none of the Palestinians who left for Amman would be allowed to see Arafat.
Ben-Eliezer said he hoped residents of the territories would realize that Israel can be their only negotiating partner in peace talks. He claimed that most West Bankers were pessimistic over the outcome of the Hussein-Arafat meetings. Arafat supporters insisted that they were confident of a positive outcome.
Friej said on an Israel television interview before leaving that Arafat must enter the political process. “I would urge Arafat to join the Mideast peace process because there can never be a military solution to the Palestinian problem,” he said.
MIGHT INITIATE A NEW PEACE PLAN
According to unconfirmed reports, Jordan and the PLO would initiate a new peace plan if and when they receive wider Arab support. Arafat arrived in Amman yesterday. It was his first trip there since his ouster from Lebanon by Syrian-backed PLO dissidents last December. In addition to his talks with Hussein, he conferred with Jordan’s Prime Minister Ahmed Obeidat.
The failure of the Hussein-Arafat talks last April was attributed to pressure by Syria and Libyan-backed Palestinian rebels and greatly disappointed the Reagan Administration which had hoped for a breakthrough that would lead to resumption of the stalled autonomy talks.
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