Mccloskey Accused of Being ‘used’ by Arafat

Rep. Elliot Levitas (D. Ga.) accused Rep. Paul McCloskey (R. Cal.) of allowing himself to be “used” by Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat when McCloskey claimed that Arafat had agreed to accept Israel’s right to exist and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.

“What Arafat did was engage in a very calculated, contrived and deliberate propaganda effort to cause confusion and problems,” Levitas told a press conference only a few hours after he returned from the Middle East this morning.

The Atlanta Congressman was part of a six-member Congressional delegation led by Rep. Nick Rahall (D. West Va.), which went on a fact-finding tour of the situation in Lebanon. Levitas said he did not join his five colleagues when they went to visit Arafat’s headquarters in west Beirut Sunday because he knew it would be used by Arafat for propaganda purposes. When the Congressmen finished their talk with Arafat, McCloskey said that the PLO lead er signed a statement saying that he accepted “all resolutions relevant to the Palestinian question,” which McCloskey interpreted as acceptance of Resolutions 242 and 338 and thus Israel’s right to exist.

Levitas said the statement was “in no way any new concession or move” by the PLO. “In fact, it has already been renounced by the PLO itself,” he said. Levitas charged it was a deliberate effort to create false expectations in various capitals, which he said has already happened in some Arab and some European countries.

Levitas said that McCloskey had tried to read more into the Arafat statement “then there was really there” because it supported McCloskey’s efforts to get the United States to change its policy of support for Israel. He said there was “no question” that McCloskey was used and that he believed the California Congressman realizes that also. Levitas said he would advise Congressional delegations to “stay clear” of Arafat and not meet with the terrorist leader.

The same advice seemed to come from the State Department today, although not directly aimed at the PLO. Department spokesman Dean Fischer said the Department has advised Congressional or any other groups not to go to Lebanon at this time because the Department feels “it’s not healthy” there.

SAYS SHULTZ APPROVED OF THE TRIP

Levitas said that the Congressional delegation had been authorized to go to the Mideast by House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D. Mass.) and the trip had the approval of Secretary of State George Shultz, although neither had given them any instructions or directions for the trip. The Congressman said he was the only pro-Israel member of the group which also included Representatives Mary Rose Oaker, (D. Ohio), David Bonior (D. Mich.) and Mervyn Dymally (D. Cal.)

He noted that McCloskey, Oaker, Dymally and Rahall had introduced a resolution in the House to cut off all military aid to Israel in the wake of the Lebanese operation. At the same time, he praised Oaker and Rahall for leading the effort in the House to provide $50 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon.

The Congressional group visited Syria before going to Lebanon and then moved on to Israel. After Levitas left the delegation, the group went today to Egypt and will also visit Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

NOT A GREAT DEAL OF OPTIMISM

Levitas said he returned from the Middle East “without a great deal of optimism” about the chances for long-term peace in the Middle East because of the rigid views he has heard expressed, particularly in Syria, but that he believed that if the peaceful departure of the “PLO terrorist fighters” could be accomplished, there could be a long period of at least non-belligerency. He said not only Israel wants the PLO out of Lebanon but also the Lebanese who also want to see the Israeli and Syrian armies leave.

Levitas doubted that McCloskey and other Congressmen would be successful in cutting off aid to Israel. He said a majority of Americans still support Israel but at the same time they want a comprehensive peace in the Middle East which includes the solution of the Palestinian problem.

Asked if all the deaths in Lebanon are worth whatever is accomplished, Levitas replied that Israel suffered more than 4,000 casualties from the PLO over the years. He said if the operation in Lebanon results in the removal of the terrorists in that country, the restoration of Lebanon as a free and independent nation and movement toward a comprehensive peace “that’s worth it.”