U.S. to Probe All Mideast Terrorist Acts : Seeks to Monitor PLO Compliance With Vow Renouncing Violence

The United States will carefully investigate all future acts of violence in the Middle East to make certain that the Palestine Liberation Organization does not violate its pledge to renounce terrorism, officials said Sunday.

“We have our sources--we have our means,” declared Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy in explaining how the United States plans to use intelligence channels in the Middle East to closely monitor the behavior of the PLO.

“Terrorism has been renounced in words; now we will see what happens. What is plain is we are not going to go on words alone.”

Statements in TV interviews by Under Secretary of State Michael H. Armacost and White House National Security Adviser Colin L. Powell also shed new light on President Reagan’s pledge to “break off communications” with PLO leader Yasser Arafat if he fails to keep his pledge against future violence.

U.S. Conditions Met

Representatives of the United States and the PLO met for the first time in 13 years in Tunisia on Friday after Arafat’s declaration two days earlier renouncing violence and accepting the existence of Israel, both conditions long demanded by the United States before any such a meeting could take place. The opening of the U.S.-PLO dialogue, aimed at seeking a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East, came in the face of strong opposition from Israeli leaders.

The three U.S. officials interviewed Sunday made it clear that Arafat would not necessarily be held accountable by the United States for all future acts of terrorism carried out by people affiliated with the PLO, especially if he acts swiftly to break his ties with anyone responsible for violence.

“If attacks occur and if it appears (to be) the responsibility of elements that are close to the PLO, we would expect him to denounce them, to disassociate from them, certainly to expel any elements that are involved in this from the PLO,” Armacost said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

U.S. Expects Action

Armacost emphasized that the United States will not be satisfied if Arafat simply denounces those PLO elements responsible for terrorism in the future. “We’re not talking simply about condemning,” he said. “We’re talking about disassociation and expulsion.”

The American officials noted that the United States recognizes that Arafat does not control all factions of the PLO and, in fact, has himself been threatened and denounced by the organization’s more radical elements.

“We are going to take these things on a case-by-case basis,” said Murphy, who appeared on ABC’s “This Week With David Brinkley.”

” . . . Arafat has said he will do his best. Arafat does not control . . . all Palestinian elements. . . . So we will look at an incident when it occurs.”

Powell, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” echoed Murphy’s sentiments.

Not Solely Responsible

“It isn’t clear that every act of violence or every terrorist incident can be traced back to the PLO,” he said. “But it is something we will be watching carefully.”

None of these three top U.S. officials explained precisely what process the United States would use to investigate violence to ascertain whether Arafat is keeping his pledge, but they brushed aside suggestions that such an investigation might be hampered by this country’s heavy reliance on Israeli intelligence sources in the Middle East.

Their statements were clearly based on a recognition that violence will continue between Palestinians and Israelis, especially the bloody skirmishing in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Arafat has not condemned. Armacost emphasized that the United States views this violence as entirely different from PLO-sponsored terrorist acts.

“You know there are differences between different kinds of acts and the intifada (Arabic word for the Palestinian uprising) when it emerged was not a byproduct of a PLO decision,” he said. “It reflected a reaction to prolonged occupation. So the reaction of the people to occupation is not going to cease immediately.”

Israelis Urged Caution

For their part, the Israelis continued to maintain that the United States should have waited to determine if the PLO intends to carry out its pledge to renounce violence before agreeing to begin talking with Arafat.

“We feel that the decision taken by the Administration was a little bit premature,” Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said on “Face the Nation.”

Likewise, Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, asserted on the Brinkley show that the PLO’s renunciation of terrorism is not believable. “They say they renounce terrorism; they do another thing,” he said. “It’s called lying.”

Relations Strained

Netanyahu added that the United States’ decision to meet with Arafat has strained U.S.-Israeli relations and set back the cause of peace.

“Frankly, I think there has been a shake-up in our belief in America’s commitment and its credibility,” he said. “We’d like to reassert the former position we had with the United States of complete trust. But it’s shaken, and it’s been shaken badly.