§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the meeting in March between officials of his Department and Faruk Quddumi in London; and what requests were made by his officials that the Palestine Liberation Organisation should explicitly accept United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338.
§ Mr. RentonOfficials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office met Mr. Quddumi informally on 19 March, in line with our long-standing policy of maintaining official level contact with the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The PLO are well aware of our view that they should accept SCRs 242 and 338.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held, or intends to hold, with King Hussein about his speech in Amman on 19 February about political co-operation with the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
§ Mr. RentonMy right hon. and learned Friend has not met King Hussein since his 19 February speech, but we continue to keep in close touch with him about developments in the Middle East.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what report he has received from Her Majesty's ambassador in Baghdad about the policy statement on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 made by the Palestine Liberation Organisation on 12 March.
§ Mr. RentonThe Voice of Palestine, broadcasting from Baghdad on 12 March, reported rejection by
the Fatah organisation inside the occupied landof United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from Her Majesty's ambassador in Tunisia regarding the statement of the executive committee of the Palestine 141W Liberation Organisation on 7 March in Tunis concerning Israel and Jordan; and whether his officials discussed this statement with Faruk Quddumi.
§ Mr. RentonHer Majesty's Ambassador in Tunis reported fully on the PLO statement of 7 March; Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials discussed this and other recent developments with Mr. Quddumi on 19 March.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what report he has received from Her Majesty's ambassador in Iraq about the claim by the Palestine Liberation Organisation on 18 March in Baghdad that it had placed incendiary bombs in a factory near Tel Aviv, and killed Israeli civilians; and whether his officials raised this incident with Faruk Quddumi at the recent meeting in London.
§ Mr. RentonNone. The text of this claim, broadcast by the Voice of Palestine in Baghdad, was published in the BBC "Summary of World Broadcasts" on 20 March, the day after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials met Mr. Quddumi.