Arafat Renounces ‘All Acts of Terrorism’ : Bows to Cairo Demand but Reaffirms Right to Armed Struggle

Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasser Arafat bowed to Egyptian demands today and renounced “all acts of terrorism” but reaffirmed a PLO commitment to armed struggle in Israeli-occupied Arab lands.

Reaction to the declaration came swiftly in Jerusalem, where Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Avi Pazner said, “It is simply an indication that the PLO is going to continue terrorism” against civilians.

Ending three days of talks with President Hosni Mubarak and Egyptian officials, Arafat said with Mubarak standing at his side:

“The PLO declares its condemnation of all acts of terrorism, whether by states, individuals or groups against the innocent and the unarmed anywhere.”

Arafat then urged the world to pressure Israel to end what he called “acts of terrorism” by Israel in and out of Israeli-occupied Arab lands--the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.

Vows ‘Punitive Measures’

Arafat pledged that the PLO will “take punitive measures” against violators of the anti-terrorism pledge.

Reaffirming the PLO’s commitment to armed struggle in Israeli-occupied territory, Arafat said “the PLO affirms the right of the people to resist Israeli occupation of their land by all available methods, with the aim of realizing a withdrawal.”

About 45,000 Jewish settlers live on the West Bank of the Jordan River, seized by Israeli forces from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel also seized the Gaza Strip from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria in that war and annexed the Golan Heights in 1981.

Arafat’s statement was a response to an Egyptian demand that the PLO’s “armed struggle” be confined to Israeli-occupied territory, political sources said.

The Egyptians hope that a PLO declaration renouncing terrorism can repair some of the damage to the Palestinian cause in the Oct. 7 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship by gunmen from a PLO faction. Israel and the United States demanded the exclusion of the PLO from Middle East peace efforts after the Achille Lauro disaster.