Cabinet Seen Paving Way for Jordan Talks
(Continued from Page 1)
of time prove to have
marked an historic water-
shed.
"The government," the
statement said, "will work
toward negotiations for a
peace agreement with Jor-
dan."
This sentence, coupled with
the total absence in the
cabinet statement of any
mention of future talks with
Egypt, has led many observ-
ers here to the conclusion
that Israel now seeks nego-
tiations with King Hussein
on the future of the West
Bank as the next stage of
the Geneva peace process.
One minister told me pri-
vately that his reading of
the statement and his assess-
ment of the cabinet debate
was that there was now a
"cabinet consensus" that
talks with Jordan were as
desirable at this time as
talks with Egypt.
The previous preference,
often voiced in recent weeks
by Premier Yitzhak Rabin
and other ministers, for
another round of talks with
Egypt and another partial
Sinai settlement before any
talks with Jordan was no
longer Israel policy, this
minister said.
If this construction of the
cabinet statement is correct,
then it is significant indeed.
And its significance is in-
evitably enhanced if it is
seen in juxtaposition with
the joint Cairo communique
of Egyptian President An-
war Sadat and King Hussein
of Jordan last week recog-
nizing Jordan as the repre-
sentative of the Palestinians
residing in Jordan (the great
majority of Palestinians),
with the Palestine Liberation
Organization representing
only those living elsewhere.
Some seasoned observers
here attach a more than
coincidental reading to the
time-proximity of the Sadat-
Hussein and the Israel Cab-
inet statements.
It is as if Hussein, im-
measurably strengthened by
Sadat's recognition of his
claim to represent the Pales-
tinians, is now f u r t h e r
boosted by Israel's firm re-
statement of its longheld
belief that he and only he is
a legitimate and practical
partner for negotiations on
the twin issues of the •West
Bank and the Palestinian
problem.
Some observers here would
even claim to detect some
form of coordination between
the two statements of posi-
tion. However that may be,
there is no doubt that the
Cairo statement greatly in-
fluenced the Israel Cabinet
debate. For someone like In-
formation Minister Aharon
Yariv, who only 10 days
earlier had declared that Is-
rael would negotiate with
Palestinian organizations
were they to recognize Israel
and disavow terrorism, the
Cairo communique was ap-
parently enough to change
his mind.
Yariv voted with the ma-
jority — rejecting any possi-
bility of talks with Pales-
tinian organizations under
any circumstances. A n y
talks, as the majority state-
ment said, would be held
"between Israel and Jordan."
Yariv explained to newsmen
later that this position defi-
nitely ruled out any separate
talks ever with Palestinian
organizations.
It did not necessarily rule
out talks with a Palestinian
grouping which might appear
in Geneva as part of the Jor-
danian delegation. That prob-
lem would have to be exam-
ined by the cabinet if and
when it arose, he said.
The envisaged peace, the
statement stresses -- and to
this all ministers agreed —
"will be founded on the exist-
ence of two independent
states only: Israel, with its
capital United Jerusalem,
and a Jordanian-Palestinian
Arab state . . . This state
will provide for expression
of identity of the Jordanians
and the Palestinians . . ."
In recognizing the exist-
ence of a Palestinian "iden-
tity" the Rabin cabinet had
adopted a slightly new tone
in comparison with Golda
Meir's Palestinian policy.
But its insistence on two
states only, and on talks with
Jordan only, represents a
continuation of the previous
government's basic positions
on the Palestinian issue.
The government's policy as
enunciated by the cabinet
statement Sunday was chal-
lenged by four urgent mo-
tions for the agenda in the
Knesset Tuesday — but all
of them were comfortably
voted to committee despite
a small number of Labor
abstentions and one defec-
tion.
Among the proposers of
motions for the agenda was
Knesseter Moshe Dayan, who
stated his own ideas on the
West Bank and Palestinian
issues — but he agreed in
the end that his motion be
voted to committee rather
than be debated by the
plenum and thus avoided a
parliamentary confrontation
between himself and his gov-
ernment and p a r t y col-
lea ques.
Dayan, without taking
issue directly with the cab-
inet statement, laid down
four "principles" which he
said ought to guide Israel's
policy on the West Bank
issue.
—Any peace agreement
must provide for the right
of Jews to live in and settle
any area of the West Bank.
—Any agreement must pro-
vide for the presence of Is-
raeli military installations
wherever they were required
("be it on the river or on
the hilltops") for the Protec-
tion of Israel's security.
—Any agreement, interim
or permanent. need not pro-
vide for Israeli rule over the
West Bank people. -
—Any agreement need not
provide for Israeli disposses-
sion of West Bankers or set-
tlement in Arab-inhabited
areas.
Peres: Israel Must Be
Prepared for Military Threat
From Syria, Talks With Egypt
JERUSALEM (JTA — De-
fense Minister Shimon Peres
said that Israel must prepare
for a military threat from
Syria in the north near the
end of the year, while at the
same time be prepared for
negotiations with Egypt in
the south.
Speaking to an I s r a el
Bonds Organization leader-
ship group from Chicago,
Peres said Syrian intentions
seemed to be warlike and
hostile.
Peres described the geo-
political situation in the
region as a cold war struggle
between the great powers in
which the United States was
gaining the upper hand.
He said that the U.S. ad-
ministration was aware of
the fact that a strong Israel
was a vital condition 'or the
success of the free world in
its ongoing confrontation
with the Communist bloc.
Meanwhile, an Independent
Liberal Party member of the
Knesset has urged the crea-
tion of a reserve body of
100,000 Jewish youth in the
Diaspora who will be ready
to come to Israel's aid should
war break out again.
Hillel Seidel made the sug-
gestion in the wake of a
report from Cairo that the
Egyptian chief of staff is
setting up a United A r a b
Command to prepare for
war, possibly in 1975, if Is-
rael does not return occupied
territory.
Seidel said if Israel is
seriously prepared for war
it might deter the Arabs
from another attack.
Seidel also note d that
Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat has convinced King
Hussein of Jordan to com-
promise with the Palestinian
terrorists.
The two Arab leaders
issued a statement saying
the Palestine Liberation Or-
ganization represented the
Palestinian people. Subse-
quently, the PLO rejected
the move, charging it would
lead to Hussein's re-establish-
ing his rule over the West
Bank rather than the crea-
tion of a separate Palestinian
state.
The Palestinian n e w s
agency WAFA charged in
Beirut that Egypt and Jor-
dan were trying to divide
the Palestinian people and
deprive them of the right to
have their own state.
Terrorists Get
Stiff Jail Terms
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Ter-
rorists caught in Israel re-
cently have received prison
terms from eight years to
life imprisonment.
Two brothers, Kemal and
Basem Dardouk, members
of a terrorist gang in Sama-
ria, were sentenced to life
imprisonment for killing an
Israeli soldier shortly after
the Yom Kippur War. Nine
other members of the group,
headed by Kemal Dardouk,
received prison terms of
eight to 50 years.
The soldier, Ali Luppo, a
paratrooper in his 20s, was
-murdered after he accepted
a lift from a pickup truck as
he was trying to go home
from Samaria. The murder
weapons, an ax and an iron
rod, were found in the home
of the Dardouk brothers.
An Arab terrorist who par-
ticipated in the attack on the
El Al office in Istanbul in
1970 was sentenced to 12
years in prison after he was
captured in Jerusalem when
he came there as a summer
visitor to see his relatives.
The terrorist, Ali el-Shami,
27, of East Jerusalem, was
sentenced to four years for
being a member of a terror-
ist group and collecting in-
formation with the intention
of violating Israel's security.
He received an additional
eight years for participating
in the Istanbul attack. Under
a recently adopted law, Is-
raeli courts can try terror-
ists for acts of terror com-
mitted outside Israel.
According to authorities,
Shami left East Jerusalem
for Jordan in 1968 and joined
a terrorist group known as
"The Popular Struggle
Front," of which he was a
member until • 1971.
In 1970, he and two others
were sent to Istanbul where
they placed a bomb which
exploded near the El Al of-
fice, shattering the windows
but not injuring anyone.
Shami then returned to
Jordan and apparently
thought that enough time had
elapsed to make it safe for
him to visit his relatives in
Jerusalem last month. There
was no disclosure as to how
he was recognized and iden-
tified. His trial was held in
June but details were not
released until a few days
ago.
Terrorist Bases
In Lebanon Hit
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israel
Air Force planes Tuesday
hit at terrorist bases in the
"Fatahland" of southeast
Lebanon, an Israeli army
spokesman announced.
He said the air raid, the
first since June 19, lasted
several minutes and was
20 Friday, July 26, 1974
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
—
aimed at members of the El
Fatah terrorist organization
who are in the area. All Is-
raeli craft returned safely to
base.
Last Friday an Israeli
army raiding party blew up
three Lebanese houses in the
village of Bustan, across the
border from Idmit.
An army communique
stressed that the action,
which was not a retaliation
but a warning, was carried
out because these houses
were known to have shelter-
ed terrorists and the owners
of the houses were known
supporters of the terrorists.
One of the houses belonged
to Salah Ali Tuki, described
as a famous supporter of the
terrorists in southern Leb-
anon.
Inhabitants were evacuated
from their houses and an
Israeli soldier explained to
them why the action was
taken. There were no casual-
ties to the Israeli party.
Elazar to Head Zim
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Former
Chief of Staff ' Gen. David
Elazar is to take the post of
chairman of the board of the
directors of the Zim ship-
ping company. He will be
involved mainly in control-
supervision.
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