‘plo is Our Sole Representative,’ 13 Palestinians Tell U.S. Envoy

Thirteen prominent Palestinians handed American envoy John Kelly a memorandum on Thursday, reiterating their traditional stand that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians.

The Palestinians, who stressed in the meeting that they viewed it as an extension of the contacts between the PLO and the United States, rejected the Israeli elections plan “according to the conditions set by Premier Yitzhak Shamir.”

They demanded that Israel accept the principle of “peace for territories,” and the Palestinian right for self-determination.

Journalist Radwan Abu Ayyash, chairman of the Palestinian Press Association, said that the meeting was an introductory meeting with Kelly, who was recently appointed assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs.

“We did not agree on all points,” said Abu-Ayyash. “He was trying to push toward the election proposal…We told him the position of the Palestinians.”

Abu Ayyash said Kelly did not present them with any specific proposals, but reiterated already known American views. The Palestinians stressed that they, too, did not present any new ideas, but merely repeated the well-known views of the PLO.

The two-hour meeting at the U.S. Consulate was attended mostly by supporters of the mainstream groups within the PLO, but also included a representative of the Communists and Nayef Hawatmeh’s Marxist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The Americans did not invite the Hamas fundamentalist movement or supporters of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Earlier in the day, Kelly met with members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.