Yossi Sarid, a Labor MK and one of the leading doves in Israel’s parliament, reiterated here that he was prepared to meet with PLO chief Yasir Arafat if Arafat showed any signs that he was willing to participate in a dialogue. “Unfortunately, I have not received any sign from the PLO indicating they are willing to talk to me. If Arafat showed his readiness, I could not ignore such a sign,” Sarid said in an interview published in the Socialist daily Arbeiterzeitung.
The Israeli Laborite, who was here last week to address the Socialist Party’s Political Institute, first expressed his willingness to meet with Arafat after Issam Sartawi, the PLO representative in Europe, said last January that the Palestinians were willing to open talks with peace-loving Jews. Sartawi’s statement, published in the Paris daily Le Monde, was fiercely criticized in the Arab world.
In his interview here, Sarid stressed that peace in the Middle East could be achieved only through direct talks between Israel and the PLO. He said former Defense Minister Ezer Weizman had made a similar statement recently.
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