Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Alarmed by peace talk gains, top PLO envoys visit Jordan Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 15:45:13 EST Message-ID: \SE A;WORLD \SS (WS) \HD Alarmed by peace talk gains, top PLO envoys visit Jordan \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT AMMAN, Jordan AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Senior PLO envoys met with Jordan's prime minister yesterday amid growing Palestinian alarm over progress by Jordan and Israel in Middle East peace negotiations. Israeli officials, meanwhile, voiced hope that a draft peace agenda with Jordan would spur agreements with Syria, Lebanon and Palestinians in the next round of talks. The draft Jordanian-Israeli accord reached Thursday is the closest Israel and an Arab country have come to a formal peace treaty since the Jewish state signed a pact with Egypt in 1979. It commits both sides to work toward a treaty but also must be approved by both governments. Jordanian officials said a three-man delegation from the Palestine Liberation Organization was sent to Amman by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. The state-run Petra news agency said Prime Minister Zeid Bin Shaker met for 90 minutes with Mahmoud Abbas, Yasser Amr and Suleiman Najjab, all members of the PLO's Executive Committee. "Both sides reaffirmed the necessity of continuing coordination and consultations [with] other parties involved in the peace negotiations in order to achieve a united Arab front," Petra said. The Palestinians are negotiating for autonomy in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, although they ultimately want an independent state. A PLO official with the delegation said the Jordan-Israel draft agenda was discussed. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the PLO delegation was comfortable with the Jordanian position. [Reuters news agency said the version of the Jordan-Israel draft agenda carried in Jordanian newspapers did not include items published in a Paris paper Saturday, such as an Israeli commitment to discuss the right of return or compensation for Palestinian refugees and to freeze Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. [Jordanian officials told Reuters they had no information on such commitments from Israel, which would represent a significant shift in the Israeli position. [Some Jordanian officials said Israel appeared to be attaching more significance to the accord than it yet warranted. "The Israelis are making a great victory out of it, but I think the celebration is premature," one official told Reuters.] At PLO headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, Mr. Arafat is grappling with opposition to the peace talks by radical Palestinians who want their delegation to negotiate for nothing less than an independent state. Israel refuses to talk directly to the PLO. In Jerusalem, the Israeli Cabinet was briefed on the draft agreement. Later, Health Minister Haim Ramon called it "a breakthrough," and Tourism Minister Uzi Baram called it "a very significant step." But both ministers said real progress depends on Syria and the Palestinians. Talks between Syria and Israel have also apparently made marked progress. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM