PLO Leader Endorses Initiative by U.S. and Egypt : Arafat OKs Call for Israeli-Palestinian Talks

Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gave his blessing Tuesday to an initiative put forth in Washington by President Bush and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt urging Israel to open a dialogue with the Palestinians.

Arafat, in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, said he “particularly appreciated the fact that the two presidents agreed to cooperate for the advancement of the peace process,” Yasukuni Enoki, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Middle East division, told reporters.

Enoki said that Arafat told Kaifu he had received a summary of Bush’s discussions with Mubarak and that the two had agreed that the next step in the peace process must be a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians.

“This is a crucial moment for the peace process,” Enoki said, “and the fact that Arafat accepted the idea of dialogue (between the Palestinians and Israel) is significant. This is a very important message to the outside world.”

Arafat, whose PLO office in Tokyo has been recognized by the Japanese government as a diplomatic mission as a result of his visit, asked Kaifu to establish a “permanent consultative institution” with the PLO, which would amount to de facto recognition of a Palestinian nation.

But Kaifu, according to Enoki, told Arafat that a deepening Japan-PLO dialogue is more important than formalities.

“At present,” Enoki said, “we are not in a position to recognize the state of Palestine.”

Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama told Arafat that Japan agrees with his position that Israel should respond to Mubarak’s 10-point initiative dealing with elections for Palestinians living under Israeli control. He said that Israel must recognize the PLO as a negotiating partner.

Arafat reiterated a complaint he made Monday by “inviting the attention of Kaifu to the trend of increasing trade between Israel and Japan,” Enoki said.

On Monday, Arafat accused Japan of forgetting the 200 million people in the Arab world and the oil that Japan imports from Arab countries, but he made no such reference Tuesday, Enoki said.

In Jerusalem, meanwhile, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Japan’s invitation to Arafat and his meetings with Kaifu and Nakayama were disappointing.

“There is no way this visit will contribute to the peace process,” the Israeli spokesman said.