Murphy Meets Hussein Over Peace Proposal

U.S. envoy Richard Murphy conferred with King Hussein today, and Hussein promptly met PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in sessions that may lead to an American meeting with a Jordanian-Palestinian peace delegation.

Murphy, assistant secretary of state for Middle East affairs, met Hussein after a two-hour discussion of a Jordanian-Palestinian plan for the Mideast with Premier Zaid Rifai and Foreign Minister Taher Masri.

Jordan’s state news agency, Petra, said Murphy and Rifai discussed “arranging meetings between a Jordanian-Palestinian joint delegation to conduct a dialogue to pave the way for holding an international conference for a just, comprehensive peace in the Middle East.”

Including All Parties

It said such a conference would include “all parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization.”

There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials on the talks or on the Jordanian account.

The United States has refused to deal with the PLO until it recognizes Israel’s right to exist.

Murphy is to fly to Israel on Thursday to sound out reluctant Israeli officials on the latest American efforts to advance the Middle East peace process.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir said U.S-Israeli relations could be damaged if Murphy meets the Jordanian-Palestinian negotiating team, an Israeli official said today.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Shamir “voiced his total opposition to such a meeting” to U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering on Tuesday and “stressed it could harm the Mideast peace process and U.S.-Israeli relations.”

State Department spokesman Charles Redman said in Washington on Tuesday that if Murphy met the joint delegation, it would only be to establish “mutually acceptable conditions” leading to direct Arab-Israeli peace talks.

Little information was disclosed on what happened during Murphy’s round of talks.

“The main thing is not to say what is going on but to have good results,” a Jordanian official said.

Hanna Siniora, editor of Al-Fajr newspaper in East Jerusalem and a likely member of the joint delegation, said Murphy and Hussein held a two-hour lunch.

After the lunch, Hussein went into a late-afternoon conference with Arafat.