U.S. Rejects Direct Talks With PLO

The State Department said today the new policy declaration by the Palestine Liberation Organization parliament in exile does not satisfy U.S. requirements for the opening of a dialogue with the PLO.

Spokesman Charles E. Redman said the results of the Palestine National Council session in Algiers “fall short” of Administration conditions.

He said the PNC endorsement of U.N. Security Council resolutions to achieve a comprehensive Middle East settlement is an advance over previous PLO statements but is ambiguous in its meaning and its placement in the text. He refused to elaborate.

The PNC’s indirect acknowledgement of Israel’s right to exist also is insufficient, Redman said.

“Recognition must be clear and unambiguous,” he said, adding that the PLO repudiation of terrorist activities against civilian targets is a restatement of previous positions.

“It is still performance that counts,” Redman said.

The U.S. position on dealing with the PLO is that no dialogue can take place until the PLO accepts U.N. resolutions 242 and 338, recognizes Israel’s right to exist and renounces terrorism.

The policy has been maintained since the Gerald R. Ford Administration.

Encouraging Signs

Despite the negative assessment, the spokesman said there were some encouraging signs coming out of the PNC meeting.

He said there were indications that some Palestinians “are trying to move the PLO in a constructive way. That’s encouraging and should continue.”

Israel on Tuesday flatly rejected the PNC call for an independent Palestinian state. Although the document was not explicit on this point, the state apparently would encompass the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which have been under Israeli control since 1967.

Redman said the status of territories under Israeli occupation “cannot be determined by unilateral acts of either side but only through a process of negotiations. A declaration of independent Palestinian statehood is such a unilateral act.

“Our objective is a comprehensive peace,” Redman said. “Direct negotiations must be at heart of the negotiating process. Palestinian participation is required at every stage of negotiations. All participants in the negotiations must renounce terrorism.