Four prominent Israelis of dove-ish or leftist orientation met with two leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization at a private home in Paris last weekend, it was confirmed here today. The meeting, arranged at the initiative of the PLO, ended inconclusively, sources here said.
The Israeli participants were identified as MK Meir Payil of Moked; Gen. (Res.) Matetyahu Peled; Yaacov Arnon, former director general of Israel’s Finance Ministry; and Uri Avneri, editor of the magazine, Haolam Haze. The PLO leaders were not identified by mutual agreement. Israeli sources said they were not Farouk Kaddoumi or Said Hammai.
Moked confirmed the facts of the meeting. The PLO was apparently interested in discussing the situation in Lebanon and Israel’s involvement there. But no agreements were reached. It was learned that the Israelis said they were prepared to help create the basis for a dialogue with the PLO and mutual recognition if the PLO was prepared to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist in its pre-June, 1967 borders.
But the PLO people reportedly were reluctant to make any commitment involving the recognition of Israel. According to the sources, they suggested that PLO participation in the Geneva peace conference could be taken by Israel as defacto recognition. The Israel participants rejected this as a basis for a dialogue.
The Israelis reportedly condemned acts of terror which undermined all chances for a reasonable dialogue. The PLO members accused Israel of helping Lebanese Christians by intensive military aid to them and of handing over Palestinians to Christian forces in southern Lebanon. (By Yitzhak Shargil)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
