Middle East Too Little, Too Late, Too Vague

Peering out at the assembled Palestinians in the domed auditorium of the Club des Pins convention center, Yasser Arafat donned a pair of spectacles and began reading softly from the document he held in his hands. Then the Palestine Liberation Organization chairman's voice suddenly rose in a crescendo and his right arm chopped the air. "In the name of God, and in the name of the Palestinian Arab people," Arafat shouted into the microphone, "the Palestine National Council announces the establishment of the state of Palestine, with holy Jerusalem as its capital."

For all the fanfare at last week's gathering of the P.L.O.'s parliament on the outskirts of Algiers, Arafat's new state came into existence in name only, a largely symbolic response by P.L.O. leaders who wanted to show some political results for the eleven-month-old Palestinian uprising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Only hours earlier, Arafat had overcome the protests of Palestinian hard-liners and persuaded the council to reverse its long-standing rejection of U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338, which - implicitly recognize Israel's right to exist. Needing a legal foundation for setting up a Palestinian state, Arafat cited the U.N. Partition Plan of 1947, previously denounced by the P.L.O. as illegal, which recognizes the right to statehood of both Jews and Arabs.

Arafat's supporters hailed the moves as a historic compromise with their enemy. Certainly the actions represented a victory for Palestinian moderates. Starting with Algeria, more than 30 countries, including Turkey, Yugoslavia and numerous Arab and nonaligned nations, quickly recognized the self-declared state; as many as 130 are expected to do so. The Soviet Union recognized Arafat's proclamation but did not immediately extend full diplomatic relations. In the occupied territories, the Israeli army clamped on curfews to prevent violent outbursts or jubilant displays. Though shopkeepers in Arab East Jerusalem passed out chocolates and local residents exchanged greetings of "Mabrouk" (congratulations), some West Bankers disparaged Arafat's half step toward Israel. The fundamentalist-led Islamic Resistance Movement distributed a leaflet that declared, "This independence movement is imaginary. It is a quick move by some of the Palestinian ranks to steal the fruits of the intifadeh's victory."

Israeli officials quickly dismissed Arafat's actions as irrelevant gimmickry designed largely to improve the P.L.O.'s image abroad. Arafat's message, in fact, was aimed not so much at Israel as at the U.S., which the Palestinian leader feels is the only country that can pressure Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza. Said Arafat: "The ball is now in the American court."