Dayan to Confer with Top U.S. Officials

Defense Minister Moshe Dayan will confer with top American officials when he visits the United States shortly on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal. Dayan is scheduled to meet next Monday with Defense Secretary Melvin Laird, Secretary of State William P. Rogers and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Joseph J. Sisco, it was disclosed here today. Informed sources said that Dayan was not expected to discuss any specific matters such as a Suez interim accord or the Jarring mission as long as deliberations on these matters are continuing through normal diplomatic channels.

(Israeli Ambassador Yitzhak Rabin met with Sisco in Washington for a half hour this morning. The meeting was at Rabin’s request. State Department spokesman Charles Bray said afterwards that the subject discussed was the possibility of an interim agreement to reopen the Suez Canal but he could not say “one way or the other” if any progress was made. He said the subject of Arab-Israeli “proximity” talks under US auspices was still being considered.)

The newspaper Maariv reported today that complete agreement has been reached between Israel and the US on the supply of Phantom jets to Israel including a delivery timetable satisfactory to Israel. Foreign Ministry officials refused to confirm the report when questioned by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. But they said negotiations over various subjects are presently in progress, but do not include the supply of Phantoms.

(In London today, Gen. Haim Barlev, former Chief of Staff of Israel’s armed forces, said the US has shifted from a virtual halt of arms deliveries to Israel to become once again Israel’s chief supplier of weapons in quantity and quality. Addressing a dinner in his honor, Barlev said the shift came about when the US realized after two years that it could not coerce Israel into accepting the Rogers plan for a Mideast settlement by threatening to withhold arms. According to Barlev the atmosphere for a Mideast peace settlement was never better although the danger of a new war has not been removed. He said the Soviet Union which had encouraged Egypt to take military action three years ago is now trying to hold Egypt back but may not succeed.)