Little Progress in Autonomy Talks

Little progress appears to have been mode at the tripartite autonomy talks between Israel, Egypt and the U.S. which opened here yesterday. A spokesman for the Egyptian delegation said they have been “constructive” but an Israeli spokesman said he was “not optimistic.”

Sol Linowitz, President Carter’s special Ambassador to the Middle East, who represents the U.S. at the talks, was reported to be meeting separately with Prime Minister Mustapha Khalil, head of the Egyptian delegation and Interior Minister Yosef Burg who heads the Israeli negotiating team.

Meanwhile, 16 pro-Palestinian men and women demonstrated outside the Kurhaus Hotel at Scheveningen beach where the talks are being held. The demonstrators, including several Dutch nationals and Palestinians and one Egyptian, are slogging a sit-down and hunger strike for the duration of the tripartite meeting. They carried signs in Dutch and English reading “Today’s Talks are About the Palestinians but Without the Palestinians,” and “Autonomy Means Bantustan.” The group has protested to the Dutch government for hosting the meeting.

The Netherlands Palestine Committee has organized a public forum in Amsterdam for tonight on the theme of, “Palestinian Autonomy?” Several prominent members of Parliament known for their pro-Palestinian views are participating along with the local representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization. A counter event, less heralded in the media, is a forum organized by the pro-Israel “Working Group for Israel” which will be addressed by both Israelis and pro-Palestinians. That meeting was announced a week ago but has been overshadowed by the larger Palestine Committee forum.