Jordan, PLO May Endorse U.S. Peace Plan, Egypt Says

Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization may soon endorse President Reagan’s long-dormant Middle East peace initiative, which calls for a Palestinian entity in association with Jordan instead of an independent Palestinian state, the Egyptian foreign minister said Friday.

Speaking to a small group of reporters, Foreign Minister Esmat Abdel Meguid said Jordan and the PLO appear to be on the verge of a formula “that will allow (Jordanian) King Hussein to speak for the Palestinians.”

In Washington for meetings with Reagan and Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Meguid urged the United States to renew its support for the plan Reagan first put forward on Sept. 1, 1982. “The United States is the only superpower that can talk to both parties and use its influence,” he said.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to make the same point when he visits Washington next month. In addition to the peace initiative, Mubarak is expected to request increased economic and military aid from the United States. Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal Hassan Ali was quoted in Cairo as saying Egypt wants annual U. S. aid of about $2.2 billion increased by $1 billion to put the nation “on equal footing with Israel concerning assistance.”

Reagan’s proposal calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River and Gaza Strip to clear the way for establishment of Palestinian “self-government” there linked in some way to Jordan. In exchange for relinquishing the territories it captured in the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel would obtain a formal peace treaty with Jordan, which would become the second Arab country after Egypt to come to terms.

Israel Rejected Plan

The Israeli government of then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin rejected the Reagan plan almost at once, although current Prime Minister Shimon Peres has said he believes the Reagan proposal could form a basis for negotiations. Jordan and the PLO later turned down the proposal after they were unable to reach agreement on a common negotiating strategy.

It is by no means certain that Israel would be willing to talk peace in any forum that includes the PLO, which the Jerusalem regime considers a terrorist organization. However, Egypt, Jordan and all other Arab states consider the PLO to be the legitimate representative of the Palestinians, the largest population group in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. All previous efforts to settle the Palestinian question have foundered on disputes over the PLO’s role.

Meguid said Egypt considers self-determination for the Palestinians to be the “minimum demand” in any negotiations. But when asked if the Palestinians would accept anything less than an independent state, Meguid said, “Let’s wait and see--the talks are going on now.”

Egypt has consistently urged the United States to resume its role as mediator between Israel and its Arab neighbors. But Washington has been reluctant to act as go-between in the region until it receives some indication that the parties are ready for compromise.

If Jordan and the PLO reach the kind of agreement Meguid outlined, it might encourage the United States to urge Israel to take a more flexible position.

“The United States has to assume its responsibility (to mediate between Israel and the Arabs),” Meguid said. “There is a danger that the United States will do nothing. This would be a tragic mistake.”

He noted: “You (the United States) have committed some very serious mistakes in the past, but your country enjoys a tremendous reservoir of good will in the (Arab) area.”