Hussein OK Hinted for Peres’ Peace Talks Plan

Key points of a proposal for Arab-Israeli peace talks attributed to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres were published Thursday, and some officials suggested that the plan has been approved at least in part by Jordan’s King Hussein.

The officials who commented on Hussein’s reported response to the plan are close to Peres, leader of the left-leaning Labor Party.

The plan reportedly calls for an international Middle East peace conference attended by Israel, its Arab enemies and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, with negotiations to be conducted by bilateral committees composed of Israel and each of its Arab neighbors.

The outline of the plan was said to have been leaked to newspapers by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s right-wing Likud Bloc, which opposes an international conference. Likud contends that such a conference would impose unacceptable conditions on Israel.

The issue could tear apart the Labor-Likud coalition government and force early elections.

Polls published Thursday supported Peres’ claim that his peace policy enjoys public support.

An independent survey published in the Maariv daily showed that 65.9% of 1,200 people consulted favored an international conference. However, it said only 16% favor talks if the Palestine Liberation Organization were to take part. About 29% opposed an international conference.

Opinion was almost evenly divided on the sensitive issue of Palestinian participation. Almost 47% favored a Palestinian role, while 48% opposed it.

Israel television, quoting sources in Likud, said the peace talks proposal was contained in a document presented to Shamir last week by U.S. Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering.

Shamir, who returned Thursday from a visit to France, rejected the plan and warned that it could force an “irresponsible” breakup of the government. He told a press conference that “there is no reason to accept a Soviet idea supported by the Arabs.”