Doubts Arise on Mubarak Trip to Israel : 2 Sides Split Over Egypt’s Insistence on PLO Peace Role

Officials in both Israel and Egypt raised cautionary flags Monday over the immediate prospect of a visit by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Jerusalem, making clear that the two countries are sharply divided on the issue of a Palestinian role in eventual peace talks.

Israeli officials had responded eagerly to comments by Mubarak in a Kuwaiti newspaper Saturday that he would make his first visit to Israel if peace prospects could be improved by such a trip. Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir welcomed the possibility and said he is preparing a new peace plan of his own.

But here and in Cairo, each side pinpointed seemingly irreconcilable differences over a future role for the Palestine Liberation Organization in peace talks. That disagreement, they said, could sidetrack any visit to Israel by Mubarak.

In Jerusalem, a Foreign Ministry official said that the Egyptians appear to be insisting that Israel accept the PLO as a negotiator on behalf of Palestinians living in Israeli-occupied territory. “This is a non-starter,” he said.

Arens Says ‘Never’

Shamir, who heads a new Israeli coalition that took power last Friday, has long rejected any PLO voice in peace talks, contending that the PLO remains a terrorist organization. In an interview published Monday in a West German magazine, Shamir’s foreign minister, Moshe Arens, reiterated the rejection.

“Never,” Arens declared. “Under no circumstances.”

Arens provided what may be a preview of Shamir’s forthcoming peace proposals: Some variation on the 1978 Camp David Accords signed by Egypt and Israel that would grant a form of self-rule to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Arabs electing their own local officials.

“In Judea and Samaria, only a limited Palestinian autonomy is possible with elections,” Arens said, using the biblical names for the occupied West Bank.

Schedule for Autonomy

Maariv, an afternoon newspaper here, quoted an aide to Shamir as saying that the prime minister’s proposals will include a schedule for putting autonomy into effect.

In any case, Israel wants to work out a deal with neighboring Arab governments, not the PLO.

Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem said they view Mubarak’s remarks as a “positive sign.” Arens met with the Egyptian ambassador to Israel on Monday and is scheduled to travel to Europe next week for a conference on chemical warfare. He may meet with his Egyptian counterpart there, the officials said.

A Message of Welcome

In Cairo, sources concurred that Mubarak was trying to send Shamir’s government a message of welcome. “We want to start a new era with a new government in Israel,” a Foreign Ministry official said.

But they cautioned that a rehash of Camp David would not do. Calling Mubarak’s offer an “appetizer,” a government adviser said Mubarak would travel to Jerusalem only if he could advance PLO participation in peace talks.

Egypt has called the Camp David autonomy formula outdated. For Mubarak to go to Israel, he would need some sign of a new Israeli position, the adviser said.

Egypt granted recognition to the geographically undefined independent Palestinian state that was proclaimed by the PLO in Algiers last month.

Mubarak considers a recent decision by the United States to open talks with the PLO to be a triumph of Egypt’s own diplomacy, and he would not now promote talks that did not include the PLO, analysts here and in Cairo said.

Shamir rejects an international conference, fearing that in such a forum Israel would be forced to give up significant portions of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Times staff writer Michael Ross in Cairo contributed to this story.