Mayor Elias Freij, of Bethlehem, and Rashad A-Shawa, the deposed Mayor of Gaza, both indicated today that they would be willing to be members of a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation to engage in peace talks with Israel.
Their names were among a half dozen Palestinians mentioned by the Saudi Arabian newspaper Ar-Raya yesterday as proposed members of a joint delegation. Freij and A-Shawa said they welcomed the idea but could not vouch for the accuracy of the newspaper report.
The others mentioned were Anwar Al-Khatib, the former Governor of Jerusalem when it was under Jordanian rule; Jamil Sabry Khalaf, Mayor of Jericho; Fahd Kawasme, the former Mayor of Hebron who was deported by the Israeli authorities; and Hikmat Al Masri, of Nablus, a former Speaker of the Jordanian parliament.
None of these men can be identified as a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization. But none is likely to be unacceptable to the PLO should negotiations with Israel materialize. The issue of non-PLO Palestinian participation with Jordan in peace talks has been one of the major issues in the recent discussions between PLO chief Yasir Arafat and King Hussein of Jordan.
Ar-Raya reported yesterday that Arafat has agreed to such participation to overcome Israel’s refusal to negotiate with the PLO. But PLO radicals issued a statement yesterday condemning President Reagan’s Middle East initiative and the Arafat Hussein dialogue. This indicates a split within the PLO and casts doubt on Arafat’s ability to honor any commitment toward peace talks.
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