The World : Curbs on PLO Talks Sought

The Senate, under pressure from the Bush Administration, has agreed to postpone consideration of a bill that would place new restrictions on Washington’s dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization, the New York Times reported. Israeli officials are putting increased pressure on the Administration and Congress to stop the meetings, which began after PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat stated late last year that the group had renounced terrorism and accepted Israel’s right to exist. The legislation, sponsored by Sens. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) and John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), would bar U.S.-PLO talks unless President Bush certified that participants had no connection to acts of terror. The measure is reported to also have bipartisan support in the House.