
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993                   TAG: 9309040210
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

U.S. SET TO OK PLO TIES

The Clinton administration will approach Congress after the Labor Day recess on reopening talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization, and a top PLO official said the U.S. intends to formally recognize the organization.

Nabil Shaath, chief political strategist for PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, said "there are assurances" from the Clinton administration of U.S. recognition.

A senior U.S. official, in a separate interview, said that step "seemed self-evident." But first, the United States would resume the dialogue established in December 1988 and suspended in June 1990 after PLO units attacked Tel Aviv beaches, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He stressed it was important to consult Congress, where support for Israel has always been strong, on "how you change our current policy."

Shaath, meanwhile, said it requires only an executive order, not an act of Congress.

Administration officials said the point of consulting Congress is to make sure reopening talks with the PLO after more than three years would not conflict with any legal restrictions.

For instance, a congressional amendment prohibits the executive branch from using government funds for talks with the PLO. The restrictions were based on a determination that the PLO sponsored terrorism and targeted Israelis and Americans.

That view is changing fast now that Israel has conducted secret negotiations with the PLO and is on the verge of turning over Gaza and part of the West Bank to Palestinian administration and recognizing the PLO as a legitimate organization.

Israel began its negotiations with the PLO even while it was against Israeli law to deal with Arafat's group. The law was subsequently revoked.

Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., had said Thursday that the United States probably would recognize the PLO after Israel does so. Hamilton is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Secretary of State Warren Christopher had hinted Tuesday at a policy shift. "Obviously, there are developments taking place that we are going to follow very carefully," he said. Officially, the State Department still considers the PLO an umbrella organization with elements that promote terrorism and others that do not.

Because the PLO is not a state, U.S. recognition would not involve an exchange of ambassadors. The U.S. consulate in Jerusalem operates as the primary American contact to Palestinians on the West Bank.

by CNB