The Knesset’s second day of debate over the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty was enlivened today when opponents of the pact seized upon “inaccuracies” in the text of the military annex to accuse Premier Menachem Begin of deceit. The furor arose after the U.S. State Department publicly disclosed that the Israeli version contained certain errors. Begin conceded this but called them “minor and unimportant corrections” and expressed surprise that the State Department raised them.
Meanwhile, only 48 of the 108 Knesset members registered to speak had their turn on the podium as of noon today and the Knesset is expected to debate through the night and vote tomorrow morning. With virtually all of the coalition and opposition parties on record in support of the treaty, its approval seemed a foregone conclusion. The latest forecast placed 97 MKs in favor, 19 opposed and three probable abstentions. One member, Likud MK Shmuel Rechtmann, will not be voting as he is in jail serving a sentence for bribery.
The pro-Moscow Rakah Communist faction is the only party officially opposed to the treaty and is expected to cast its five votes against it. The other negative votes will come from die-hard opponents in Likud and the Labor Party although party discipline has been invaked and violators could face sanctions.
The opponents of the treaty provided the only drama during the two days of generally lack-luster debate. Labor MK Amos Hadar said today that he would vote against the treaty. Two other Laborites, Shlomo Hillel and Shoshana Arbell-Almoslino were sharply critical but did not disclose how they would vote. The Labor Party Executive was scheduled to meet tonight to decide what measures to take against party members who break ranks.
On the Likud side, interest focused on Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon, one of the most powerful foes of the peace treaty, whose political future may depend on how he votes. It was reported today that Begin intends to demand the resignation of any minister who abstains or votes against the pact. Sharon appeared to be shifting to a relatively moderate stand during the past two weeks. But at Monday’s crucial Cabinet meeting which voted 15-2 in favor of the treaty, Sharon and Transport Minister Haim Landau cast the only negative votes.
Sharon refused to serve on the II-member ministerial committee appointed by Begin to work out on autonomy program for the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He failed to appear at the Likud Central Committee meeting Monday night which overwhelmingly endorsed the treaty. There were reports of an angry exchange between Sharon and Begin over autonomy at the Cabinet meeting where Sharon came armed with large maps of the West Bank showing his plans for massive Jewish settlement activity.
There was speculation that if Sharon quits the government or is forced to resign, he may lead a new faction made up of die-hard treaty opponents from Likud, Labor and the National Religious Party. Sharon’s main constituency is among the settlers in the occupied territories. He visited last night with representatives of settlements on the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights who urged him to stay in the government. Haim Landau, who is not a member of the Knesset, will not be faced with the choice of voting for the treaty or leaving the Cabinet.
TREATY TEXT EXPLAINED
Begin today explained the inaccuracies in the text of the military annex submitted to the Knesset for approval along with the rest of the treaty and its annexes and side-letters. He said the 8000-word document was an earlier draft than the one finally agreed on in Washington and was presented to the Knesset only because the final version had not yet reached Jerusalem when the debate opened.
“It was essential that we present the Knesset members with some version of the appendix and so we gave them the last draft,” Begin said. “Tonight we will receive the final version” and there are only “minor and unimportant corrections involved, he said. He said the State Department was aware of this and he was at a loss to explain why they made a public statement about it.
But some MKs immediately charged that the annex was “full of inaccuracies” and called for a halt to the debate until the final version is at hand Likud MK Moshe Shamir said ” the treaty is filled with disorder, the information with inaccuracies and the proposed American aid to Israel for our withdrawal from Sinai is too small.” Danny Rosolio of the Labor Party also criticized the treaty and another MK said the version of the military annex given to the Knesset had the words “to be amended in Washington” penciled on the margin.
The Knesset fireworks yesterday involved the ejection of Rakah’s Arab MK, Tawfik Taubi, who constantly interrupted Begin’s opening speech with shouts from the floor. Later, Labor MK Uzi Baram lodged an official protest against Taubi’s ouster with Knesset Speaker Yitzhak Shamir. He maintained the members had the right to heckle any speaker and should be expelled from the chamber only if they create a serious disturbance Another Rakah MK, Charlie Biton, left the chamber on his own.
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.
