Israeli Cabinet OKs Plan for Vote in Occupied Areas

Israel’s Cabinet on Sunday overwhelmingly approved Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s proposal for Palestinian elections, but the blueprint stopped short of clearing up several issues of concern to the Bush Administration, which has been pushing for details of the plan.

The 20-point plan calls for an unspecified period of “calming” before the “free, democratic and secret” vote can take place--an indirect demand that the 17-month old Arab uprising in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip must end in advance.

“Violence and elections cannot go hand in hand,” advised Yosef Ben-Aharon, a top aide of the prime minister.

The program specifically excludes the Palestine Liberation Organization from any role in future peace talks. Jordan and Egypt, on the other hand, are invited to join in.

To be eligible to run in the election, all Palestinian candidates must endorse Israel’s proposal for a five-year period of “autonomy” in the West Bank and Gaza, under Israeli rule. The period is meant as a “test for coexistence and cooperation,” according to the document.

Winners of the vote would work out details of the autonomy scheme with Israel and would also be involved in talks on a final settlement, to begin by the third year of the arrangement.

Insistence that the Arabs accept limited self-rule prior to elections appears to rule out any candidacies even sympathetic to the PLO. During several months of whirlwind diplomatic efforts abroad, PLO chief Yasser Arafat has been pressing for immediate recognition of an independent state on the occupied land.

Under the conditions spelled out Sunday, no one could run on an independence platform.

It is not clear who would participate without approval of the PLO, which has a staunch following among the 1.7 million residents in the occupied lands. The PLO views the election plan as a way for Israel to end the Arab uprising without having to suspend its military occupation of the territories.

In a letter to the U.S. consul in Jerusalem, Phillip Wilcox, six top pro-PLO leaders from the West Bank and Gaza rejected the plan as it stands. The program is “grossly deficient inasmuch as they (elections) are not part of a political process that leads directly to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” the letter said.

Shamir aide Ben-Aharon countered: “If the PLO is against the vote, it only means it worries that a free election would undermine its claim to represent all the Palestinians.”

Administration Position

The Bush Administration has been trying to reconcile the PLO’s quest for a state and Israel’s autonomy plan by urging Israel to promise eventual withdrawal from at least some of the land. A recent letter from Secretary of State James A. Baker III reminded the Israeli government of Washington’s commitment to the land-for-peace formula.

The plan unveiled Sunday makes no mention of surrendering territory. The proposal also skirts issues of whether the 140,000 Arab residents of Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in 1967, can vote and whether international supervision over the election will be permitted. In his letter, Baker had asked for both issues to be clarified. Both issues are considered politically inflammatory in Israel.

Ben-Aharon said such details would be worked out. “The Cabinet approved the plan in principle. Modalities will come later,” he said.

The plan was formally presented to a visiting delegation from the U.S. State Department, headed by Dennis Ross, director of policy planning.

Reports on Soviet Visit

In turn, Ross reported to the Israelis on the just-concluded trip by Secretary of State Baker to Moscow.

Besides the election plans, Shamir’s proposal includes what is termed a “wider package” that calls for normal relations with hostile Arab countries, especially Jordan, aid for Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza, and the reaffirmation of the Camp David accords that led to the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

The plan’s autonomy scheme is based squarely on the Camp David accords.

After a seven-hour debate, the Cabinet approved the plan by a vote of 20 to 6. The six who voted against it included three hawks from Shamir’s own Likud Party and another hard-liner from the National Religious Party, all of whom thought the election would open the way to a Palestinian state.

“This dangerous plan could bring more terrorism and even war,” warned Industry Minister Ariel Sharon, best known for leading Israel into the 1982 Lebanon war.

“The government is about to bring a terrible tragedy on itself.”

ISRAELIS GROW EDGY: The uprising’s spreading impact caused concern in Israel. Page 7