U.S. Official Confident Palestinians Can Be Found Who Would Be Acceptable to Israel for Talks Betwee

A senior Reagan Administration official expressed confidence today that Palestinians could be found who would be acceptable to Israel for negotiations between Israel and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation.

“I’m confident that names can be found that will be acceptable to all parties,” the official said while briefing reporters on the meetings scheduled here this week between King Hussein of Jordan and President Reagan and other Administration officials.

Hussein, who arrived here today from Providence, Rhode Island, where he attended the graduation of his son from Brown University, will meet with Reagan at the White House tomorrow. He is also scheduled to have separate meetings with Vice President George Bush, Secretary of State George Shultz, National Security Advisor Robert MacFarlane and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, as well as members of Congress before leaving for California on Friday.

“Our goals are modest,” the official said of the Hussein visit. He added, “We hope in the end it will lead to an extension of the peace process and to direct negotiations” between Israel and a Jordanian-Palestinian delegation.

On the joint delegation, the Administration official stressed that a U.S. meeting with such a group is not a “crucial issue” since the U.S. has already said it will meet such a delegation as long as there are no Palestine Liberation Organization members among the Palestinians.

The official said what will be critical is the delegation named to negotiate with Israel. He added that these two joint delegations may not necessarily be made up of the same people. The official said that on the recent visit to the Middle East by Shultz and Richard Murphy, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, names of Palestinians were discussed on a “for example” basis but no definite list was drawn up. He noted that Shultz said that in order to get a Palestinian delegation it was necessary to move away from “categories” of people and just consider individual Palestinians.

Stressing that no one should expect any “dramatic occurrence in the next 48 hours,” the official said that Shultz found in the Middle East a more pragmatic approach on all sides including in Jordan and among the Palestinians, and an understanding of the American approach.

“We have long believed its only by focusing on incremental steps that we can shape the reality in which negotiations can take place with the ultimate objective of achieving a durable comprehensive settlement between Israel and its Arab neighbors,” he explained.

CITES ‘POSITIVE’ OCCURRENCES IN THE MIDEAST

The official said there had been “positive” occurrences in the Mideast since last October starting with the resumption of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Jordan. He said this was followed by the Palestine National Council meeting in Amman last November which he called “rapprochement” between Hussein and the Palestinians which in turn led to the February II agreement between Hussein and PLO leader Yasir Arafat.

The official noted that at the time the U.S. called this agreement a “milestone” among “many other milestones on the road to peace.” He said that while the Hussein-Arafat accord does not explicitly endorse United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and Israel’s right to exist, it does commit the PLO to seek a negotiated settlement based on the land for peace formula and UN and Security Council resolutions. He said this was the first positive PLO reference to Security Council resolutions.

The officials said the agreement also commits the PLO to seek Palestinian self-determination through a confederation with Jordan. He said this could “apparently” mean that the “Palestinians would be willing to forego an independent state west of the Jordan if the rest of the plan fell into place.”

He added, “As ambiguous as that document on February 11th may be, it does commit the PLO to support negotiations and support them in partnership with Jordan.”

The official stressed that Jordan is central to the peace process and that Hussein “is determined not to let the door close to the possibility of a negotiated settlement.” He added that Hussein “is equally determined” not to move forward without the Palestinians.

At the same time, the official rejected the Syrian view that any settlement required an Arab consensus.

Asked about arms for Jordan, the official said no decision has been made on any arms sales. He noted that the review started by the Administration in November of Mideast arms sales has still not been completed.