Cordiality, Substance
Prevail At Talks
Jerusalem (JTA) — Handshakes
and cordiality were the order of
the day as Israeli and Syrian mil-
itary officials sat down in Wash-
ington this week to discuss
security arrangements for the
Golan Heights as part of a po-
tential peace deal between the
two countries.
But while cordiality apparent-
ly characterized the meetings in
Washington, a political firestorm
erupted in Jerusalem. The
firestorm was sparked when
Likud leader Benjamin Ne-
tanyahu purportedly disclosed a
document of instructions given
by the government to Lt. Gen.
/' Amnon Shahak, the Israel De-
fense Force chief of staff, in prepa-
ration for his Washington
discussions with his Syrian coun-
terpart, Lt. Gen. Hikmat Shihabi.
During their first day of talks,
the two military men agreed on
three principles: the need for de-
militarized zones, for limitation-
of-forces zones and for early
warning measures, according to
reporters, who were kept at arm's
length from the principal nego-
tiators meeting at Fort McNair
in Washington.
Beyond that, according to re-
porters, wide gaps remain.
Thess talks in Washington
were the first substantive talks
between Israel and Syria since
last December, when Syria de-
manded symmetry in any secu-
i arrangements. Syria has
rity
demanded full withdrawal from
the Golan, while Israel has based
any pullback on the nature of se-
curity arrangements and the ex-
tent of peace.
But officials in Jerusalem are
apparently encouraged by the at-
mosphere as well as by the rare
positive comments that seem to
have crept into the official — and
closely monitored — Syrian me-
dia.
Tishrin, the official Syrian
newspaper, said that the Wash-
ington round "could be a break-
through."
Although the paper dutifully
reiterated Syria's demand for to-
tal .withdrawal from the Golan,
it seemed to take pains to assure
/J Israelis that there was "no dan-
ger" for Israel in withdrawing
from the strategic plateau be-
cause Syria was well-known to
honor the accords it concludes.
The question, in the Syrian pa-
per's view, was: Did Israel have
the courage and foresight to con-
, dude peace and security accords
with Syria?
The chiefs of staff were sched-
uled to wind up their session
probably with a meeting with
President Clinton.
In addition to Shahak, the Is-
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raeli delegation includes Israel's
ambassador to the United States,
Itamar Rabinovich, and the
prime minister's military secre-
tary, Maj. Gen. Danny Yatom.
Talks are scheduled to contin-
ue between the Israeli and Syri-
an ambassadors, along with
lower-ranking officers.
Back in Jerusalem, stormy
scenes erupted in the Knesset
when Likud leader Binyamin Ne-
tanyahu brandished a paper that
he asserted was a document con-
taining instructions to Lt. Gen.
Shahak. He said the document
represented a government retreat
from its earlier security condi-
tions.
Mr. Netanyahu refused to dis-
close the source of the document,
Foreign Minister Shimon
Peres, replying to opposition mo-
tions of no confidence, said Mr.
Netanyahu was bluffing.
Mr. Rabin, in curt comments
to reporters, said: "Gentlemen,
you remember the torrid tape?'
Syrian, Israeli
talks will
continue.
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Well, this is another torrid tape."
The premier's reference was to
Mr. Netanyahu's dramatic tele-
vised allegation in early 1993 that
aides to his Likud rival, David
Levy, were blackmailing him over
an extramarital affair he had
had.
Mr. Netanyahu accused the
blackmailers of threatening to
disclose an illegally obtained tape
recording. But the entire story
proved false and baseless — to
the Likud leader's grave embar-
rassment. The Knesset vote was
defeated by a comfortable 54 to
48 margin in favor of the gov-
ernment.
Behind the scenes in the Knes-
set, however, things looked less
bright for the prime minister and
his peace policies.
A group of 13 Labor Knesset
members, among them four min-
isters, gathered discreetly to cre-
ate a new hawkish group within
the party. They were determined
"to stop the slide towards
Meretz," they said, referring to
the left-wing party that is part of
the government coalition.
The group put forward three
demands: that the government
hold firm for a defensible border
line on the Golan; that it hold
firm for full normalization with
Syria; and that it hold firm for Is-
raeli sovereignty over the Jewish
settlements around Jerusalem.
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