PLO to Meet on Independent State Nov. 12

The Palestine Liberation Organization said Thursday that the Palestinian parliament in exile will meet in Algiers Nov. 12-14 to endorse a PLO political initiative calling for an independent Palestinian state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

PLO spokesman Ahmed Abdelrahman said the Palestine National Council meeting “will be a step forward . . . for the Palestinian side to achieve peace in the Middle East on the basis of self-determination and an independent state.”

Abdelrahman said that, in addition to a Palestinian “declaration of independence,” the council would adopt a political statement on “the conditions for peace in Palestine and conditions for an international (peace) conference” that will emphasize the PLO’s role.

Other PLO sources said that this will include an offer to accept U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338, which include recognition of Israel, in return for recognition by Israel of the Palestinian right to self-determination.

Abdelrahman said that a third agenda item will be a mandate for the PLO to form a provisional government.

Earlier this month, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, anxious to build on the 10-month-old Arab uprising in the occupied territories, said the Palestinian council would meet before the Nov. 1 Israeli elections. But Abdelrahman said Arafat moved the date in deference to other Arab leaders who feared that the independence declaration would aid the Israeli right wing.