TIlE REGIONAL REACTION

The reaction of the various countries of the Gulf region to the stunning development of the agreement between the PLO and Israel contained no surprises for close observers of the regional political scene. This historic breakthrough in the Arab-Israeli impasse is of greater significance, in essence, than the Egypt-Israel peace agreement. The PLO will not be put into diplomatic quarantine by the Arab states, or be excluded from Arab councils and organisations, as Egypt was in 1979.