Rabin Rejects PLO Terms for New Talks : Israel: Addressing U.S. Jewish leaders, premier rules out removal of settlers from territories. He meets with Clinton today.

Although he predicted final agreement soon on the first phase of Palestinian self-rule, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Tuesday ruled out the sort of concessions that the Palestine Liberation Organization has demanded before it will resume peace talks with his government.

His remarks came in an uncompromising speech to his government’s strongest U.S. supporters, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Rabin, who meets President Clinton at the White House today, said his government is unwilling to reopen issues that were decided before the PLO suspended negotiations after an Israeli settler massacred about 30 Palestinian worshipers at the Hebron mosque.

He rejected the PLO call for removing Jewish settlements from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying Palestinians and Jews are destined to live together forever both in Israel and the occupied territories.

The Clinton Administration is trying to broker a means to restart talks over details left unsettled when Israel and the PLO signed an agreement Sept. 13 on the White House lawn calling for Palestinian self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho. Rabin and Secretary of State Warren Christopher discussed the matter for an hour or so Tuesday.

To help restart the negotiations, Christopher urged Rabin to consider PLO proposals that would put Hebron under the control of a Palestinian police force, according to the New York Times.

Neither Israel nor the PLO has given any public indication that it is ready to soften its conditions for resuming talks. After the massacre in the West Bank town of Hebron, the PLO said it would not continue talks without new measures to protect Palestinian civilians. Israel condemned the killings but said it will not risk its own security to satisfy PLO demands.

Despite the seeming deadlock, Israeli and Palestinian officials both predicted that the talks will resume eventually. U.S. mediators expressed similar optimism.

In his speech, Rabin asserted: “We are near the conclusion of the Gaza-Jericho stage in the negotiations for peace. We already see the finish line.”

But Rabin said Israel will not allow the Hebron massacre to erode its own security. “I must clarify to our Palestinian partners: The feeling of loss and sorrow in the wake of the Hebron tragedy will not change our fundamental positions regarding the security of the state of Israel and its citizens, including the Jewish residents of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip,” he said. “We have no intention of compromising on any security matters.

“As horrendous as the murder in Hebron was, there can be no departure from the course of negotiation with the Palestinians,” he added. “It is time to get back to the negotiating table.”

In public, at least, Administration officials have said Israel has done enough to meet the Palestinians’ legitimate concerns. They have urged the PLO to restart the talks without insisting on more concessions.

But the Administration is trying to negotiate a deal with Arafat in which the PLO would promise to resume the talks in exchange for a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Hebron killings. The American government has blocked action on the resolution while negotiating with Arafat.

Israel objects strongly to the resolution because it refers to East Jerusalem, which was under Jordanian control before the 1967 Middle East War, as “occupied territory.” Although Washington has generally resisted such phrasing, officials have hinted that Washington might be willing to accept that concept if it results in an early resumption of the negotiations.