U.S. Decision on PLO Hailed Worldwide : Congress Leaders Greet News With Burst of Optimism

The U.S. decision to open a dialogue with the PLO was hailed today in the Arab world and beyond as a step that would advance peace in the Middle East. Some Palestinian refugees wept for joy at the news.

In Washington, congressional leaders sounded a chorus of optimism but urged members of the Palestine Liberation Organization to match their words with action.

The Soviet Union, Britain, Italy and Japan were among nations joining Arab states in expressing pleasure at the U.S. move, announced Wednesday by Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

Israelis Disappointed

Israel expressed shock and sorrow over the decision, saying it would not serve the cause of peace.

U.S. congressional leaders said it was in the best interests of Israel, the United States and the Palestinians that the diplomatic gridlock in the Middle East begin to break up.

“This is a first step, but a significant step, toward advancing the peace process,” said Sen. George J. Mitchell of Maine, the next Senate Democratic leader.

“In light of the PLO’s record, however, it must be viewed with caution, and these words must of course be matched by deeds,” he said.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who is stepping down as Senate majority leader, said the PLO had met the “essential preconditions” for direct contacts with Washington.

“As Israel’s real friends, it is time to recognize the shift in posture by the PLO,” Byrd said.

Paying the Price

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Arafat has “proved that he is at least willing to pay the price to get a seat at the bargaining table.”

“This is a great step by a great nation,” said Mohammed Milhelm, the former mayor of Halhoul in the occupied West Bank who was expelled by Israel.

In Cairo, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Egypt welcomed the U.S. move and considered it “an important step and a positive development on the road to a comprehensive peace in the region.

“Egypt played a big role in the developments and contacts that led to this step,” the official said.

In Geneva, Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Petrovsky said today that the U.S. decision was “a reasonable action going in the right direction.”

Norwegian Reaction

In Oslo, Foreign Minister Thorvald Stoltenberg of Norway said: “Israel’s rigid attitude toward the Palestine Liberation Organization is not serving Israeli interests.

“I will not be surprised if the Americans are fed up with Israel’s rigid attitude in the Middle East issue.”

Kamel Abu Jaber, head of Jordan’s World Affairs Council, said the U.S. decision had improved its image in the Arab world.

“It has just pulled the United States from the mud it has planted itself in for the last 40 years . . . and appears it is heading in the right direction, for the benefit of the Palestinians and the benefit of the Israelis,” he said.

“It has created a new reality with which the Israelis will live and have to live.”

Beirut’s leftist An Nidaa daily was headlined: “American Retreat Under Blows of Stone-Throwing Heroes.” It referred to the yearlong Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The official Saudi Arabian news agency announced the Shultz decision with the headline, “Finally, American-Palestinian Dialogue.”

In the Hussein Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, accountant Said Khalidy, 26, said, “I never expected the United States would look at us or care to find a solution to the Palestinian issue.”