WORLD : Shamir Spurns Mediation on PLO

Egypt, Israel’s only Arab peace partner, offered to mediate between the Jewish state and the Palestine Liberation Organization today but Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir refused.

Butros Butros Ghali, the visiting Egyptian minister of state for foreign affairs, made the offer at separate meetings with Shamir and about 30 leading Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Shamir’s spokesman Avi Pazner quoted the hard-line prime minister as saying: “Israel is not interested in negotiations with the PLO, but if Egypt is prepared to encourage local Palestinians to take part in the elections and the negotiating process, that would be extremely helpful.”