The Knesset issued a statement Tuesday ruling out the Palestine Liberation Organization as a negotiating partner and affirming Israel’s rejection of a Palestinian state.
The statement, which wound up a session on political matters, including the PLO’s recent peace offensive, had wide support from Likud, Labor, Agudat Yisrael and the National Religious Party.
But some Labor doves and members of leftist opposition parties accused the government of not wanting peace.
Divisions in the Knesset deepened when 32 right-wing members signed a letter urging the law enforcement agencies to prevent four of their colleagues from going to a meeting in Paris that will be attended by PLO representatives.
The Knesset statement, adopted by a substantial majority, made clear that politicians here believe the PLO still aims at Israel’s destruction, American opinions to the contrary not withstanding.
It stated that Israel is prepared to negotiate with Palestinian representatives who recognize Israel, reject terrorism and accept U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
The United States maintained that the PLO met precisely those conditions when it decided last month to open a dialogue with the PLO.
The Knesset insisted, however, that “the PLO, which is based on the Palestinian Covenant, and any other organization which negates the existence of Israel and the national existence of the Jewish people, or which exercises terrorism, cannot be partners to negotiations.”
JORDANIAN-PALESTINIAN FRAMEWORK
According to the Knesset statement, “Israel will insist that the solution of the Palestinian problem be within a Jordanian-Palestinian frame-work.
“Israel negates the establishment of an additional separate Palestinian state in the territory between Israel and the Jordan River,” the statement said.
Foreign Minister Moshe Arens told the Knesset on Tuesday he believes 1989 will be a year of progress in the peace process. He said Israel is preparing a series of proposals to advance the process.
Arens said at a reception here for foreign ambassadors that Israel is considering a number of peace initiatives, none of which has yet passed through the decision-making channels.
The right-wing members’ letter, addressed by 32 Knesset members to the minister of police, the minister of justice and the attorney general, refers to a trip planned by Ora Namir and Arich Eliav of Labor, and Shulamit Aloni and Yossi Sarid of the Citizens Rights Movement.
It urges the authorities to bar their departure from the country on grounds that the law forbids Israelis from having contact with the PLO.
Eliav told reporters Tuesday that the Paris meeting would not violate that ban.
He said the four Knesset members do not intend to negotiate with the PLO, only to participate in an international conference that would also be attended by Palestinians, including PLO representatives.
Three other Laborites, Knesset member Haim Ramon, former Knesset member Abba Eban and Haim Zadok, reportedly are considering an invitation to a conference in The Hague that will be attended by two members of the Palestine National Council, Edward Said and Walid Khalidi.
The conference is titled “The Palestinian-Israeli Problem From a European Point of View.”
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