U.N. Votes 152-2 to Deplore American Move Against Arafat

The General Assembly called on the United States Wednesday evening to reverse its decision to deny a visa to Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat, which would enable him to address the United Nations in New York.

The appeal to Washington was part of a resolution overwhelmingly adopted by the General Assembly. The vote was 151 in favor, with only the United States and Israel voting against. The United Kingdom cast the sole abstention.

The resolution “deplored” the U.S. refusal to grant Arafat an entry visa, declaring that the move was in violation of the Headquarters Agreement between the United States and the United Nations.

Unless Washington reverses its decision, something that is widely viewed as unlikely, the General Assembly will meet again Thursday evening or Friday to vote on a resolution to switch the debate on the Palestinian question to Geneva, where Arafat would be able to participate in the debate.

The resolution adopted Wednesday night appeals to the Reagan administration “to reconsider and reverse its decision.”

The annual debate on the Palestinian question, originally scheduled to open here Thursday, was deferred. According to U.N. sources, it will take place in Geneva from Dec. 13 to 15.

Diplomats and observers here said that the United States, and indirectly Israel, has suffered a diplomatic defeat, in view of the overwhelming majority of countries who opposed the American ban on Arafat. The assembly is expected now to vote overwhelmingly in favor of moving the debate to Geneva.

Secretary of State George Shultz has already said that the United States will not reverse its decision. Washington refused a visa to Arafat on the grounds that “PLO elements have engaged in terrorism against Americans and others” and that Arafat himself “knows of, condones and lends support to such acts.”