U.S. special envoy Philip Habib conferred with Premier Menachem Begin for an hour this afternoon. It was their second meeting since Habib arrived here from Damascus yesterday on his mission to defuse the Syrian missile crisis but neither he ### Begin made a statement and ######mation on the status of the situation.
Informed sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency this evening that no concrete proposals were put on the table in the course of the discussions with Habib. It is understood that the American diplomat has as yet offered no specific U.S. proposals for a solution and that there are no negotiations between Israel and Syria for a quid pro quo accommodation.
Begin, who appeared in the Knesset directly after his talk with Habib said he hoped “war will not break out.” Later, he conferred with senior Cabinet ministers. Habib is expected to remain here at least until tomorrow morning when he is tentatively scheduled to meet with Shimon Peres, chairman of the opposition Labor Party.
KNESSET ADOPTS RESOLUTION
The Knesset debate over the missile crisis and the government’s policy in Lebanon which opened yesterday, ended today with the adoption of a resolution “taking note of the Premier’s statement.” A Labor Alignment motion critical of the government’s actions in Lebanon was defeated.
Begin defended his disclosure yesterday that he had ordered the Air Force to attack the Syrian SAM-6 missile batteries in eastern Lebanon on April 30 but the attack was called off because of bad weather. He claimed he had not given away a military secret. But Begin’s disclosure was sharply criticized by opposition spokesmen and by defense establishment personnel who remained anonymous. They said his disclosure gave the enemy valuable information as to the kind of weather conditions under which the Air Force would not fly missions.
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.
