Peres Offers His Plan for Talks : Jordan, Palestinians, U.S. Would Be Included

Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres on Monday proposed his own five-stage Mideast peace initiative to culminate “within three months” in the opening of a “Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli conference, with the participation of the United States.”

The proposal, unveiled in a speech to the Israeli Parliament, contained some new elements but did not represent any radical departure from his government’s previously stated positions.

“It’s basically an answer to the Hussein plan,” a Peres aide said, referring to the offer by the Jordanian king late last month to open negotiations with Israel under the umbrella of an international conference on the Middle East.

The speech also represented an effort by Peres to take a more active role in the current upsurge of Middle East diplomacy, the aide said.

Peres spoke almost exactly four months after Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization prompted the latest round of Mideast diplomacy by announcing that they had agreed on a joint negotiating stance.

As diplomatic momentum has picked up since, Israel has most often been in the position of reacting to the proposals of others--including Jordan, Egypt and the United States--involved in the search for a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict in general and the Palestinian problem in particular.

Leftist critics of Peres’ delicately balanced coalition government immediately charged that his proposal was only a clever cover-up, designed to camouflage Israel’s rejection of Hussein’s plan, which the king outlined during a visit to Washington late last month.

Peres strongly criticized Hussein’s offer in his speech Monday, calling it “a program for vanquishing Israel, not for peace with Israel.” He also opposed additional U.S. arms sales to Jordan.

‘Possible Change’

Nonetheless, he added:”It’s possible that there is a change of atmosphere in the Middle East. It’s possible that an opportunity has arisen that must not be missed.”

Peres added, “I think we can say to our friends across the ocean, and to our neighbors across the (Jordan) river, that despite all the obstacles and difficulties on the road, Israel believes that it is possible to arrive at direct negotiations, that those negotiations are likely to bear fruit and that Israel is ready to contribute much to advance them as much as possible.”

However, underlining the difficulties Peres and his government face in agreeing to any Middle East peace formula, right-wing members of Parliament--immediately after the prime minister’s 25-minute address--warned against any thought of trading Israeli-occupied territory on the West Bank or Gaza Strip in return for peace.

The consequences would be “worse than Yammit,” Tehiya party leader Geula Cohen said in a reference to the Israeli town in the Sinai. The army had to force settlers out of Yammit and tear it down after the 1979 peace treaty required the return of the Sinai to Egypt.

Five-Point Plan

Peres’ five-point plan stops far short of promising to give up any captured land in return for peace. It calls for:

--”Continuation of the talks of the representatives of the United States with Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Palestinian representatives who are not PLO members.

--”Establishment of a narrow Jordanian-Palestinian and Israeli team which will prepare an agenda for a Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli conference, with the participation of the United States.

--”Enlistment of the support of the permanent members of the (U.N.) Security Council for direct Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, without their pre-committing themselves to support the stand of one of the sides.

--”Appointment of authentic Palestinian representatives from the (occupied) territories who will represent the stands of the inhabitants and will be acceptable to the sides.

--”Convening of an opening conference within three months, at a place to be agreed in the United States or Europe or the Middle East.”

Peres said Israel’s goal is direct negotiations, with no prior conditions, “between equals and under conditions of equality.” The negotiations should be “with the parties that are interested in peace, and not with the sides that are interested in the persistence of the conflict.”

New Element

His call for a joint working team to prepare an agenda for direct talks is a new element of Israeli policy, as is the mention of seeking support from U.N. Security Council members. The latter was apparently designed as a gesture toward Hussein, who wants a conference including all five permanent Security Council members--the United States, Soviet Union, Britain, France and China.

Israel objects to any leading role in peace talks for the Soviet Union, which is an ally of hard-line Syria and which broke relations with Israel after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Jordan, Egypt, and other interested parties are urging the United States to hold preliminary peace talks with a Jordanian-Palestinian delegation as a first step in negotiations. Washington has indicated it is ready for such meetings.

After Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, Israel said it has informed the Reagan Administration that it opposes such talks as a potential obstacle to direct negotiations. Privately, however, government sources who reflect Peres’ views say the prime minister expects U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy to meet with a Jordanian-Palestinian delegation in Amman, the Jordanian capital, within several weeks.

Keep It Together

The sources added that, contrary to popular opinion that his coalition government is too divided to last in the face of a serious effort to negotiate a new peace, Peres believes that he can keep the national unity Cabinet together at least during the initial stages of the peace process.

West Bank Palestinians were divided after hearing initial reports of the Peres initiative.

“If the prime minister did not rule out participation of members of the (Palestine National Council) in the negotiations, then this is an opening for peace talks,” said Hanna Signora, editor of the East Jerusalem daily Al Fajr.

The council is often referred to as the Palestinian Parliament in exile, and there are differences within the Israeli government over whether its members are in the same category as members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, with which both halves of the Israeli coalition refuse to negotiate.

However, the deposed mayor of Hebron, Mustafa Natshe, said that as long as Peres continues to reject PLO participation in talks, his stand is unacceptable. He added, “Who will sign for the Palestinians on a peace treaty if not their legitimate representative, which is only the PLO?”