Arafat Rejects U.S. Conditions for Peace Talks

PLO chief Yasser Arafat said today that he rejects U.S. conditions for including the Palestine Liberation Organization in Middle East peace talks and said that if it had been possible to reach peace without the PLO, the United States “wouldn’t have hesitated.”

Arafat also insisted that he opposes terrorism, calling the Palestinians “the victims of terrorism.”

At a news conference, Arafat described his three-hour talks Monday with Jordan’s King Hussein as constructive.

Asked if the PLO would accept U.S. qualifications for taking part in peace talks, he replied, “They can sell their qualifications to somebody else, but I won’t buy them.”

Hussein has been trying to win American, and eventually Israeli, acceptance of the PLO as a negotiating partner. But the United States says the PLO must explicitly recognize Israel’s right to exist and two U.N. resolutions that imply the same thing.

Reassessment of Peace Effort

Hussein and Arafat met Monday for what the king called a reassessment of their peace effort after the killing of three Israelis on a yacht in Cyprus, the Israeli bombing of PLO headquarters in Tunis, the hijacking of an Italian cruise ship and the cancellation of a meeting between PLO officials and Britain’s foreign secretary.

Arafat declared today: “There will not be peace or stability in the region if (the Americans) decide to sidestep the PLO and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. . . .”