Shamir agrees to talks

JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir accepted on Thursday a U.S. formula for historic Middle East peace talks with the Arabs, saying Secretary of State James A. Baker III had assured him the issue of Palestinian representation would be resolved to Israel's satisfaction. On that basis, Shamir agreed to submit the proposal to the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday. A senior U.S. official said he was confident of approval. An exultant Baker said a conference with face-to-face negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbor"no longer simply a dream." Shamir told an Israeli television interviewer, "We have agreements with representatives of the United States on the makeup of the Palestinian delegation. There will be no PLO men there; there will be no residents of east Jerusalem and there will be no people from the Palestinian diaspora. "President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev announced Wednesday in Moscow that they intended to convene the peace conference in October, and Bush sent Baker to Israel to deal with final sticking points. Baker said work remained to be done before the peace conference could be held. But he said Shamir had given him "the yes we were hoping for from the Israelis." Shamir said, "It appears thatthe United States has not yet come to agreement with the other side." And, indeed, a leading Palestinian activist who has been mentioned in the past as a possible negotiator reacted with skepticism to the Israeli's acceptance. "I cannot say that what we heard from Mr. Shamir is a real yes, because it is with a condition," said Faisal Husseini, who said he needed to hear more specific information from Baker. Baker is to meet with a Palestinian delegation Friday morning. Shamir, asked about chances the peace conference would finally occur, said, "I think that all the efforts vested by the United States, and with the help of the Soviet Union ... I assume that it will take place." Israel has fought five wars with its Arab neighbors since its establishment in 1948. Only Egypt, in 1979, has agreed to peace with the Jewish state.