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Israel agrees to let Leila

Israel demands peace pledge from former hijacker

JERUSALEM: Israel has agreed to let former hijacker and revolutionary luminary Leila Khaled into the Palestinian self-rule areas to participate in a historic meeting of Palestinian leaders if she first signs an anti-terrorism statem ent, Israeli officials said Tuesday.

"We will let (Khaled) enter but she must sign a declaration that she is against terrorism and in favor of the peace process," said Shlomo Dror, a spokesman for military administrators.

Khaled, who gained international renown for a September 1970 attempt to hijack a London-bound El Al plane, could cross the Allenby Bridge from Jordan to the West Bank as early as next week, according to Palestinian sources.

Her arrival would be part of the run-up to a meeting of the Palestine National Council (PNC), which, according to agreements with Israel, is due to deliberate by May 7 on cancelling clauses in the PLO covenant calling for Israel's destruction.

Israel is also likely to grant an entry permit to Nayef Hawatmeh, head of the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, whose name appears among 37 others on a list submitted by the Palestinian Authority, Dror said.

"The matter is being checked and I believe he will receive permission," he said.

Israel is demanding the statement from Khaled because of a recent Jordanian newspaper interview in which she was quoted as praising bus bombings by Islamic militants against Israeli targets.

"We want to help Yasser Arafat convene the PNC but we have no intention of having someone come and encourage terrorist acts," Dror said.

Khaled, the author of a book called "Life Story of a Revolutionary" is now identified more closely with Arafat's Fatah faction than with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the radical faction which specialized in plane hijackings during the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Nabil Abu Rudeina, an adviser to Arafat, urged Israel to "not put obstacles" in the way of those seeking to attend the PNC. "This in their own interest," he said.-AFP