Baker Carried Away Key to Mideast Peace, PLO Aide Says

If former Secretary of State James A. Baker III had continued to shepherd the Middle East peace process instead of moving to the White House to try to rescue President Bush’s reelection campaign, Israel and the Palestinians probably would have agreed by now on a limited self-government plan for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a key PLO official said Wednesday.

Nabil Shaath, political adviser to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, praised Baker as “a brilliant tactician” who almost single-handedly bridged Arab-Israeli differences in setting up the complex negotiations but was gone when the talks reached a potential climax this fall.

Since Baker left the State Department for the White House in August, Shaath said, U.S. mediators have done nothing more than “pat people on the back and say ‘Keep on, keep on.’ ”

If Baker had been as active in the months following Israel’s June election as he was earlier, Shaath said, “probably an accord could have been signed by November.”

Although many Arab delegates grumbled privately when Baker resigned from the State Department, Shaath is the first one to say publicly that the move damaged the peace process.

Shaath and Hanan Ashrawi, spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation to the negotiations, talked to reporters at a breakfast.

Shaath’s comments seem to be intended as a message to President-elect Bill Clinton that a historic Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is at hand, provided the new Administration takes the matter seriously and gives the talks intensive, high-level attention.

Arab spokespersons were sharply critical of Clinton’s campaign rhetoric, which they said displayed a strong pro-Israel bias.

Palestinian delegates stayed away from the bargaining table Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Syrian, Jordanian and Lebanese delegations joined the Palestinians in taking the day off.

U.S. officials and Israeli representatives were sharply critical of the break in the talks.

“We regret this decision,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. “In our view, no opportunity should be lost in the engagement of the parties to advance the Arab-Israeli peace talks.”

Meanwhile, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip staged a general strike and other demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the insurrection known as the intifada , wire services reported.

Heavy army and police patrols in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem kept protest activities to a minimum. In the West Bank village of Silat Harithiya, border police fatally wounded a 17-year-old Palestinian after he and another youth hurled a firebomb at their patrol, the army said. The victim’s name was not immediately available.