Israel remained adamant tonight against including the Palestine Liberation Organization in Middle East peace negotiations even if the PLO agreed to accept United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. This was stressed by Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan at a press conference after a meeting this afternoon with U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance who arrived here this morning from visits to five Arab countries.
“Even if the PLO does accept all of Resolution 242, even without reservations, it would not mean we would accept the PLO as a partner for Geneva negotiations, ” Dayan told the reporters. “At the moment we are not being asked to do that.”
Dayan, who was asked repeatedly about the PLO’s reported change on the UN resolution, refused to give any details of his meeting with Vance. He said he knew of no American move to get the PLO to change its attitude on Resolution 242. If the United States did propose bringing the PLO to Geneva, “we would oppose it,” he said.
The Foreign Minister said he could not envision any circumstance in which Israel would accept the PLO.” We see no reason to negotiate with a party which is not a state and especially with the PLO which wants to destroy us,” he said. Dayan reiterated Israel’s position that no additional parties can be included in the Geneva conference without the approval of all the original parties. He said negotiations are between states and governments not groups.
DOES NOT SEE U.S. IMPOSED PEACE
Asked whether a tough stand by Israel might result in a crisis with the U.S., Dayan replied that while Israel would like to see “eye-to-eye” with the U.S. on every issue it does not mean there cannot be differences. He said these differences do not mean that the negotiations cannot begin since only Israel and the Arab countries can make peace.
Dayan said that on the issues the U.S. will not support Israel, the Jewish State will go it alone. He said Israel is a “free country” and is ready to make compromises and listen to the Arab claims. “I do not believe the United States will impose a peace.”
OUTLINES SETTLEMENT POSITIONS
In addition to opposition to the PLO, Dayan outlined Israel’s other positions on a settlement which he stressed were not preconditions but only a starting point which could change during the negotiations. He said these are:
Israel does not want to negotiate with a single Arab delegation but wants to establish peace with each of its Arab neighbors; Israel wants a full peace agreement not interim accords; Israel will not withdraw to the 1967 borders; Israel rejects the idea of a Palestinian state on the West Bank; Israel is ready to withdraw from parts of the Sinai as part of a peace agreement, and Israel rejects any foreign administration including Jordanian on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Following his meeting with Dayan, Vance was scheduled to meet with Premier Menachem Begin tonight.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
