Diplomatic sources in Beirut reported today that Palestinian guerrillas have agreed under pressure to suspend attacks against Israel from Lebanese territory. The sources said the Lebanese government was seeking to remove the terrorists entirely from its territory to deprive Israel of excuses for further attacks. Other sources said, however, that Lebanese authorities have asked the terrorists only to leave the southern region of the country which borders on Israel.
The Cairo newspaper Al Ahram reported that the guerrillas have been ordered out of Lebanon within a definite time. The paper said that President Sadat of Egypt was insisting that Beirut preserve a Lebanese haven for the Palestinian resistance movement. According to a Beirut report, El Fatah chief Yassir Arafat agreed to a temporary halt of guerrilla activities but rejected the government’s request that they evacuate the southern region known as “Fatahland,” Neutral observers here tended to view with scepticism any agreement with Arafat. They noted from past experience that guerrillas in the field often defy restrictive orders from their superiors.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
