British Foreign Office Minister Douglas Hogg defended his country’s decision to lift a ban on high-level contacts with the Palestine Liberation Office this week, saying he acted to further the peace process when he met with PLO officials earlier this week.
In an interview, Hogg said: “We regard ourselves as being friends of Israel and indeed friends of the Palestinians. We think the present impasse is extremely damaging.”
But Israeli diplomats continued to condemn the meeting Hogg had Tuesday with two PLO officials and Faisal Husseini, the unofficial chief of the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks.
The meeting marked a reversal of policy for London, which suspended high-level contacts with the PLO during the Persian Gulf War, when the PLO leadership proclaimed its allegiance to Saddam Hussein.
The two PLO officials at the meeting were Hael Fahoum, the head of the PLO’s European section, and Afif Safieh, the PLO’s London representative.
Israel’s ambassador to Britain, Yoav Biran, protested the action to London officials and told the Jewish Chronicle that the British decision was a “prize” to the PLO for obstructing peace talks.
The PLO, however, was clearly jubilant at what Safieh described as “an important break-through.”
Safieh said the meeting was “warm, constructive and very promising.”
Meanwhile, Israel was concerned that Britain’s move would be followed by similar decisions in other European capitals.
In New York, the Anti-Defamation League also denounced the British move.
“The PLO does not merit any rewards by the international community,” said Abraham Foxman, ADL national director.
“It was not that long ago when Yasir Arafat and the PLO publicly supported Iraqi aggression against Kuwait,” he added, and “the PLO has still not demonstrated an unequivocal commitment against violence.”
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.
