U.S. Pushes for Early Resumption of Peace Talks : Middle East: Bush wants negotiations to produce progress before November elections.

The Bush Administration called Wednesday for an early resumption of peace talks to test the negotiating flexibility promised by Yitzhak Rabin, the Labor Party leader who is poised to become Israel’s next prime minister.

“I would hope that we could see the next round of bilateral discussions take place just as soon as it is conveniently possible in the aftermath of the formation of a new Israeli government,” Secretary of State James A. Baker III told reporters.

Although there is no doubt that Rabin’s Labor-led government will enjoy far warmer relations with Washington than did the Likud Party regime of outgoing Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, U.S. officials said that the first trial of the new relationship will be the speed with which Rabin moves toward granting limited self-rule to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

President Bush clearly wants the Middle East negotiations to produce progress before the U.S. elections in November to refurbish his foreign policy reputation and repair his relationship with the U.S. Jewish community. U.S. officials believe that the chances are far better with Rabin than they had been with Shamir.

Rabin, whose party won a substantial plurality but fell short of gaining a parliamentary majority, must now cobble together a ruling coalition. Although that is virtually certain to occur, the process could take weeks and will profoundly affect the tenor of his new government.

Until then, Administration officials are being careful not to discuss the specific steps Washington will take to capitalize on the Labor victory. But it seems clear that Washington’s strategy now will be to persuade Palestinian negotiators that they should not miss the opportunity to strike a deal with the new Israeli regime.

During the campaign that preceded Tuesday’s Israeli election, Rabin made it clear that he was ready to negotiate an early autonomy agreement with the Palestinians, reversing Shamir’s cautious go-slow approach that critics--including many in the U.S. government--described as foot-dragging. Rabin also promised to curtail construction of Jewish settlements in some of the occupied territories, a step Washington has long advocated.

Nevertheless, Administration officials were cautious in their public response to the Rabin victory. Questioned by the Europe and Middle East subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Assistant Secretary of State Edward P. Djerejian said that Washington will wait to see if Rabin keeps his promises.

Djerejian said that the Administration agrees with “policy positions advocated by Labor and by Mr. Rabin on a variety of issues, including settlements.” But he added: “We will have to see how these are translated once he is in power. The litmus test . . . will be what positions are actually tabled” when the peace talks resume in Rome.

Djerejian indicated that the Administration is ready to approve Israel’s request for $2 billion a year in loan guarantees to house and resettle immigrants from the former Soviet Union if the new Israeli government stops building settlements in the occupied territories.

Meanwhile, American Jewish leaders hailed the Rabin victory, hoping it will end the friction that marked the Bush-Shamir relationship.

“Rabin will not have to be prodded to move quickly,” said Henry Siegman, executive director of the American Jewish Congress. “Rabin believes it is in Israel’s interest to move quickly (in the peace process), and he will do so.”

Michael Lerner, editor of the liberal Jewish magazine Tikkun, said that the U.S. government and leftist members of the Labor Party will have to ride herd on Rabin to make sure he offers the Palestinians the sort of deal they would be willing to accept.

Rabin, a former army chief of staff, is hardly a peacenik. As defense minister in an earlier Shamir Cabinet, he ordered soldiers to break the bones of Palestinian demonstrators to curb the still-smoldering Arab uprising.

But Rabin won Baker’s favor by taking a pragmatic approach to negotiations--a sharp contrast with Shamir’s rigid ideological positions. With Rabin in charge, Baker will have far more room to maneuver in trying to mediate an Israeli-Arab agreement.

“Baker is going to relish the opportunities of making a deal here,” said Martin Indyk, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.