Sources close to Premier Menachem Begin today flatly rejected an assertion by labor Party chairman Shimon Peres that Begin may be planning to call a general election before his government’s term of office expires in 1981. Peres said he believes Begin wants to reap the fruits of the peace treaty with Egypt before public dissatisfaction with Israel’s deteriorating economy overtakes the Likud government.
Begin’s aides said Peres’ calculations were “dead wrong.” They said that the normalization of relations with Egypt has just started as have the negotiations on Palestinian autonomy and for those reasons alone Begin intends to serve out his full term. “The government is determined to fulfill its obligations, even if it disappoints the leader of the opposition,” they said.
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.
