Arafat carries the day, but without backing the Reagan initiative
Wearing his customary checkered kaffiyeh, Yasser Arafat rose to the podium as the 355 delegates and 4,000 invited guests cheered with rhythmic applause. Predictably, he assailed the Israeli invasion of Lebanon last summer and vowed that the Palestine Liberation Organization would fight on until "the Palestinian flag is hoisted atop the mosques and churches of Jerusalem." The rousing opening speech by the P.L.O. chairman brought a standing ovation at the Palestine National Council's meeting in Algiers last week. Sitting in the front row during later sessions, Arafat ebulliently hugged and kissed...