Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger was reported tonight to have shown a sympathetic interest for Israel’s proposals in the military sphere after a day of talks with Defense Ministry officials and senior officers of the Israel Defense Force here. The discussions are said to have covered American support for production of the Lavie, Israel’s second generation jet fighter plane, and aid for Israeli arms purchases, including the possible supply of the U.S. army with certain Israeli military hardware.
Weinberger was briefed on Israel’s view of the military situation in the Arab world by IDF intelligence chiefs. It was understood, however, that the issue of Lebanon was not raised in any detail.
The U.S. Defense Secretary is here for 36 hours of intensive discussion with leaders of Israel’s defense establishment. He has conferred with Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin and will go to Jerusalem tomorrow for a meeting with Premier Shimon Peres with whom he met only recently in Washington. He will also tour the Ramon air base in the Negev, built by U.S. engineers for the Israel Air Force to replace airfields given up in Sinai.
AN AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE
Rabin is reported, meanwhile, to have agreed in principle to start talks between the IDF and the Lebanese army on security for Israel’s northem borders should the IDF be withdrawn from south Lebanon. The talks would be held under the auspices of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). This was proposed by the Lebanese government during the recent visits of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Richard Murphy, and Brian Urquhart, Deputy Secretary General of the UN.
The Israelis want the talks to include representative tives of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), commanded by Gen. Antoine Lahad, which Israel supports and expects to play a security role in the south after the IDF pulls out. Israel is also agreed to a security role for UNIFIL which represents a change from the position of the former Likud-led government. The latter mistrusted UNIFIL but the new unity coalition headed by Peres appears to have relaxed Israel’s objections to the international force.
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.
