Sen, Charles Percy (R. III), who aroused anger in Chicago’s Jewish community last January when he suggested Israel should make overtures to the Palestine Liberation Organization and called PLO chief Yasir Arafat “relatively moderate,” is now urging Arafat and the PLO to restrain their threats against Israel and American civilians in Sinai.
“Every threat, every raid, every murder, by the PLO,” he told the Senate several days ago, “can only delay the day when the Palestinians are given a homeland of their own.” If Arafat, he added, “wishes to prove to the world that he is indeed less extreme than his rivals in the PLO, now is the time for him to initiate some restraint over the belligerent PLO propaganda and the savage attacks on Israeli civilians which continue to poison the Palestinian cause.”
Percy, who was hailed by Arab elements in the United States after his January statements, expressed hope that “very soon the Palestinians will learn” from Egyptian President Anwar Sadat “the advantages of accepting the reality of Israel’s existence and of negotiating cooperatively to reduce tensions.”
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