Ali and Weizman Remain Friends

Egyptian Foreign Minister Kamal Hassan Ali expressed deep regret over the resignation of Ezer Weizman as Defense Minister of Israel. Ali, who until recently was Egypt’s Defense Minister, said he regarded Weizman as his personal friend and attempted to reach him by telephone yesterday.

Weizman, winding up his affairs at the Defense Ministry, returned the call last night. The Egyptian general told him, “We were friends and we remain friends. Your contribution to the peace cause was enormous.” He invited Weizman and his wife, Reuma, to visit Cairo and Weizman said he might accept the invitation shortly.

But apart from that exchange, there was no public comment by any Egyptian leader on Weizman’s resignation and none is known to have sent messages to the departing Israeli defense chief.

Cairo refrained from an official reaction pending “clarification of the picture,” according to Ehud Yaari, the Israel Broadcasting Authority correspondent in the Egyptian capital. The Egyptian press devoted little space to Weizman’s departure and Yaari reported that he was prevented from soliciting reactions from “the man in the street,” on indication that the Egyptian government wants no hint of reaction to be made public at this time.

There was good reason to believe, however, that the Egyptians are unhappy over this latest development in Israel. President Anwar Sodat established especially close relations with Weizman since the Camp David meetings in September, 1978 and during the tortuous peace process which unfolded thereafter. Similar relations developed between Weizman and Ali and Ali’s predecessor as Defense Minister, Gen. Mohammed Gamassy.

Ali and Weizman appeared to have found a common language and genuine mutual regard. Each was appointed by his respective government to be in charge of the normalization process and under their direction if achieved remarkable progress in a short period of time.

In the past, Sadat is known to have expressed the wish that Weizman would succeed Menachem Begin as Prime Minister. It is believed in fact that the Egyptian leader several times postponed anti-Israel decisions on the assumption that in the future he could reach an understanding with an Israeli government headed by Weizman.

On the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Weizman’s departure was viewed as a set-back. Mayor Elias Freij of Bethlehem said it was a “major loss for mutual understanding between Jews and Arabs” and a retreat in terms of the political situation. He praised Weizman for his “deep understanding of the Mideast situation.”

Mayor Rashod A-Shawa of Gaza also expressed regret over Weizman’s resignation. “His resignation indicates that the Israeli government will go more extreme which we certainly object to,” he said. He noted that Weizman too had supported Jewish settlements in the occupied territories but regarded him as the proponent of a more moderate line in the Cabinet.

Maj. Sood Haddad, leader of the Israel-backed Christian militia in south Lebanon said he was saddened by Weizman’s resignation. He spoke of his excellent relations with the Defense Minister but expressed confidence that Israel’s relations with the Christians in south Lebanon will not change.