A Slow Start The talks this morning, originally expected to include three sets of negotiations, started only with the one set: between the Israelis and the joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation.

Arafat and Hussein to Meet The Palestine Liberation Organization insists on its right to name the Palestinian delegates to a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation.

"What has become clear in Madrid is that the Syrians cannot hamper the talks between Israelis and the Palestinian-Jordanian delegations," said a senior Palestinian delegate to the talks.

It was Jordan that made the peace process possible in Madrid in October 1991 by providing an umbrella in the joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation enabling Palestinians to negotiate with Israel.

According to the invitation, the talks between the Israeli and Palestinian-Jordanian delegations will initially be about interim self-rule for the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Israeli officials also said the United States had expressed interest in seeing whether a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation might be formed to discuss the future of the West Bank.

"The Palestinian part of the Palestinian-Jordanian delegation, as is known, does not accept autonomy at all," he said in a partial transcript printed by The Jerusalem Post, an English-language daily.

'This Is Our Right' "We must know who are the people who will compose the Palestinian delegation within the Palestinian-Jordanian delegation," the Prime Minister said.

"They don't agree with us and for now, because of this, there is no Palestinian-Jordanian delegation," Mr. Shamir said.

There seems to be agreement that at any peace talks there would be a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation, replacing Palestinian insistence on separate delegations.