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Political, Economic
Agreements Reached

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Jerusalem (JTA) —
Israelis and Palestinians
have astounded political
pundits by reaching agree-
ment on significant political
and economic measures to
advance Palestinian
autonomy without waiting
for the start of formal
bilateral talks under the
Madrid peace conference
scenario.
Both sides, acting ap-
parently from mutual self-
interest, are trying to estab-
lish- new patterns of coopera-
tion independent of what the
ultimate political solution in
the administered territories
might be.
Equally significant is the
fact that the first moves
have been in the Gaza Strip,
the most troublesome and
impoverished of the ad-
ministered territories,
where the intifada began
nearly four years ago.
Moreover, they encompass
virtually very element of the
Palestinian community,
from mainstream Palestine
Liberation Organization
supporters to the violence-
prone, rejectionist Islamic
fundamentalist Hamas
movement.
On the political scene,
local leaders and the Israeli
Defense Ministry agreed tot
establish a new municipal
council in Gaza, to be headed
by a local Palestinian at-
torney, Fayez Abu- Rahme.
An acknowledged sup-
porter of the mainstream
PLO headed by Yassir
Arafat, he issued a state-
ment hailing the new town
council as• "a breakthrough
which would create a diff-
erent climate."
In turn, he got the bless-
ings of the Israelis for a suc-.
cessful administration,
although there are obviously
still hostile elements at
large in the territory.
Gaza had been without a
town council for years,
precisely because of the pro-
PLO sentiments of its
leaders. The city was
governed instead by Israel
Defense Force officers
assigned to the Civil Ad-
ministration.
In another important con-
cession, the Defense Min-
istry, seeking to help the
territory's moribund econo-
my, has given local Palestin-
ian businessmen a green
light to engage in joint econ-
omic ventures with Saudi
Arabian entrepreneurs.
The Ministry approved the
transfer of funds from the

European Community and
Saudi Arabia to projects run
by the Gaza municipality.
Another possibility under
consideration is the estab-
lishment of a new bank in
Gaza with Saudi funds.
The new Saudi interest in
economic ventures in the
Gaza Strip coincided with a
meeting in Washington last
week between American
Jewish leaders and the
Saudi ambassador to the
United States, Prince Ban-
dar Ibn Sultan.
Another source of income
will be Jordan, which has
transferred hundreds of
thousands of dollars to Gaza
in the past year.
Defense Minister Moshe
Arens told an audience at
Tel Aviv University this
week that there is now a

Both sides, acting
apparently from
mutual self-
interest, are trying
to establish new
patterns of
cooperation
independent of
what the ultimate
political solutions
might be.

good chance to reach an
agreement with the Palesti-
nians because they are no
longer demanding an in-
dependent state as a precon-
dition but are willing to
negotiate autonomy in
stages.
The negotiations will be
face-to-face talks between
Israeli and joint Jordanian-
Palestinian delegations The
two sides had a cordial in-
troductory session in Madrid
but since then have been
unable to agree on the venue
of their future meetings. No
dates have been set.
The Madrid peace con-
ference formula follows the
same lines as the 1978 Camp
David Accords. It calls for a
five-year period of autonomy
in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. In the third year,
negotiations would begin
over the final status of the
territories.
Before the Persian Gulf
War last winter, the Pales-
tinians refused even to
discuss autonomy, calling it
a back-door attempt to im-
pose Israeli law on them.
Now they are apparently
prepared to negotiate it as
-an interim stage.

