Back in 1979, Andrew Young was the American ambassador to the United Nations. Without telling his superiors, he had some off-the-cuff discussions in the corridor with PLO delegates in New York. Official American policy forbade any talks by U.S. officials with the Palestinians. Young was fired.

Times have changed dramatically. The PLO, once viewed by all of the major political parties in Israel as a sinister obstacle to peace, is now viewed by the Labor-led government as an indispensable prerequisite to peace.

In a development as stunning as the Camp David accords of 1978, Israel and the PLO are now on the verge of mutual recognition and the establishment of Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip, the town of Jericho and other West Bank areas presumably to be named later.

The 140 West Bank Jewish settlements would remain and be governed and protected by Israel. The PLO would renounce terrorism and would recognize Israel's right to exist. Yasir Arafat, the much-challenged, but long-surviving leader of the PLO would in time move his headquarters from Tunis to Jericho, putting him as a government presence 20 miles from Jerusalem.

This tentative meeting of the minds between the Labor Day Government and the PLO is viewed as treasonous heresy in other quarters. The Likud party calls it a "bridgehead to prosecute the war against and the desruction of Israel." The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the second largest and most radical group within the PLO, calls it "a trick ... the beginnig of the end of the Palestinian cause." Because the agreement will be so hotly challenged, its implementation will be extraordinarily vexing.

Timing is everything in politics and for Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat time was running out. If the beginning of an Israeli-Palestinian peace were to be made, it had to be made now. For Israel, the PLO was no longer the worst possible partner for peace; it was in reality the only viable partner. For the PLO, beleaguered and increasingly more isolated from erstwhile sponsors, the Labor government was the last train leaving the peace settlement station.

In the pages of history, rejectionists absolutists seldom prevail. They didn't in South Africa, they didn't in the Soviet Union and, if present trends hold, they won't succeed in thwarting this initial Israeli-Palestinian accord.

Secretary of State Warren Christopher has put the American seal of approval on the process. The not-quite-as-rich oil states will pump in some financial support. But, as usual, the United States will be the key bankroller of last resort to guarantee the economic viability of Palestinian political autonomy. Gaza and Jericho don't an economy make. Just as after Camp David, Egypt joined Israel in a direct hookup to the U.S. Treasury, so now the Palestinians will seek to assert a priority entitlement claim. When Andrew Young casually talked to `em, he was sacked. Soon we may finance `em. Time marches on.