Middle East Saying No to Arafat

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The P.L.O. chairman does not have a notably easier agenda. As Arafat met & with a host of world leaders, including Pope John Paul II, his aides said he was concerned that terrorism could doom his peace efforts, particularly if that initiative failed to produce results. In Damascus, Arafat's actions were condemned by two Syrian-backed Palestinian renegade leaders, Ahmed Jabril and Colonel Said Musa. Both have been accused by the U.S. of masterminding terrorist attacks.

Arafat has set an ambitious target: an independent Palestinian state by 1991. To speed diplomacy along, he plans to have P.L.O. officials unveil new proposals when they hold their second meeting with Robert Pelletreau, the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia. One is an international conference on terrorism that would enable Arafat to dramatize his promises. Another overture, an acutely sensitive one, might be an offer to help prevent terrorist acts by exchanging intelligence information with the U.S. Meanwhile, Arafat wants to reach early agreement with King Hussein on the outline of a U.S.-backed Palestinian- Jordanian confederation.

But given Israel's position, Arafat is not likely to need such a detailed blueprint anytime soon. Few in Israel are ready -- yet -- to accept the seismic shift in attitude that has occurred, especially in the U.S. Government. The Bush Administration will be looking for a new mood in Jerusalem as well as a new government. But Shamir is unlikely to soften: Israel now appears to have a government that prefers territory to peace. And the overwhelming majority of his countrymen back Shamir in saying no to the P.L.O.