Israeli Officials in the U.S. Are Stressing Army’s ‘restraint’

Israel’s chief representatives in the United States are stressing the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization in “inciting” the rioters in Gaza and the West Bank, while underscoring the “restraint” of the Israeli troops in confronting the demonstrators.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Israeli Consulate General in New York, as well as other Israeli consulates in the United States, have been receiving many requests from the American news media, as well as Jewish leaders and organizations, for an explanation of what is happening in Gaza, the West Bank and Arab communities in Israel.

Moshe Arad, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, was in New York Monday night to brief the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on the situation. The meeting was closed to the press, but according to a spokesman for the Presidents Conference, the Israeli envoy stressed the restraint Israel is exercising in Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Arad reportedly noted that the police are being instructed not to fire live ammunition unless their lives are threatened and they are using rubber bullets, tear gas and water hoses to defend themselves.

The envoy pointed out that the Israeli government is once again expressing its willingness to meet face to face with Arab leaders to reach a peaceful solution to the Arab Israeli conflict. But Israel’s most immediate concern is to pacify the situation in the territories, he stated.

Moshe Yegar, Israel’s consul general in New York, said in a telephone interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the riots are orchestrated by the PLO. “No other government could demonstrate more self-restraint than Israel has been doing in the last two weeks,” Yegar claimed.

Yegar said that the PLO-sponsored riots could not be a substitute to real peace negotiations and would lead the Palestinians in the territories nowhere. “The riots and demonstrations will never change the policy of the government of Israel,” he declared.

Asked if, in his view, the American news media have been reporting the events in Gaza and the West Bank accurately, Yegar said he prefers “not to express an opinion on the subject.”