Arafat Meets in Cairo with Israeli, First Talks Since Hebron Killings

An Israeli official has met in Cairo with Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, marking the first time the two sides have held talks since the Feb. 25 murders of Palestinian worshipers in Hebron.

An official close to Rabin confirmed that the secret talks were held Monday in the Egyptian capital in an effort to salvage the Israeli-PLO negotiations, which the Palestinians broke off abruptly after an Israeli settler killed more than 40 Palestinians at morning prayers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

Jacques Neriah, an adviser to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, presented Arafat with new proposals for security arrangements in the territories in light of the Hebron killings.

PLO sources in Tunis told Israel Radio on Monday they expect an Israeli minister to meet with Arafat within a day or two.

But Israel Radio also reported that Arafat, following a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa, reiterated that the PLO will not resume talks with Israel until the U.N. Security Council issues a condemnation of the Hebron murders.

At the United Nations, Israeli sources said the resolution remains stalled over the Palestinian insistence that the resolution be specifically worded to call for an armed international presence in the territories.

The sources said the Palestinians are also demanding that Jerusalem be specifically mentioned in reference to the territories.

The United States, which has veto power over any Security Council resolution, is supporting Israeli opposition to these two points.

Rabin is meanwhile standing firm against the PLO demand for an armed international force in the territories to protect Palestinians living there.

Speaking at Hebrew University on Monday, Rabin said he believes an armed presence in the territories would run counter to agreements already negotiated with the PLO and would cast doubt on any agreements reached with them in the future.

The self-rule accord signed last September includes a provision for the placement of international observers in the territories, but not for an armed presence.

In the wake of the Feb. 25 killings of Palestinians at a Hebron mosque, the PLO has repeatedly called for an armed international presence in the territories. The PLO has also called for the removal of settlements in Hebron and for the disarming of all settlers throughout the territories.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Monday that Israel would agree to the temporary presence of observers in the territories, from nations that have offered financial assistance to the future Palestinian autonomous area.

Peres also said time was of the essence to reach agreement with the PLO. He said the biggest contribution to changing the current climate of tension and mistrust would be implementation of the self-rule accord.

“Instead of opening the agreement, let’s realize it, and then all of us will see we do not have an agreement about a piece of paper but we do have an agreement about a new reality,” Peres told the Knesset.

Dr. Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli Arab who is an adviser to Arafat, disagreed that the PLO demands violate the agreement between the two sides.

“President Arafat and the PLO leadership (are) committed to the peace process,” Tibi said in remarks Monday at Hebrew University.

“We are not talking about opening agreements. We are talking about new circumstances that were created after the massacre,” he said.

He argued that the most important issue is the security of the Palestinians and said this should be solved as soon as possible if the two sides are to return to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, Israel Radio reported that PLO official Nabil Sha’ath announced that Britain and Norway are ready to participate in an international observer force stationed in the territories under U.N. auspices.