Arens: Saudi Plan is a Tactical Switch Which is More Dangerous to Israel Because It Makes Riyadh See

Moshe Arens, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, declared here today that Saudi Arabia’s eight-point peace plan was unacceptable because it was aimed at the “dismemberment of Israel.”

Arens, who heads a six-member Knesset delegation sent to the U.S. to oppose the plan proposed by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Fahd, emerged from an hour-long meeting at the White House to say that the Saudi plan was not a “little step” forward as one newspaper headline quoted him as saying, but a “step sideward.”

He said the plan was a tactical switch by the Saudis which was in a way more dangerous to Israel because it gave Riyadh the appearance of being moderate. Arens, who conceded that he spoke by telephone to Premier Menachem Begin in Jerusalem this morning, said Begin understood that he had been misquoted yesterday after the Knesset delegation met for 90 minutes with Secretary of State Alexander Haig.

At that time, Arens said that Fahd’s seventh point, which calls for all countries in the region to live in peace, seemed to go “just a little way” toward recognition of Israel. But he stressed that the Saudis still have a “long way” to go in order to join the Middle East peace process. He said to do this they would have to show a willingness to negotiate directly with Israel and “learn how to pronounce the name of Israel.” Fahd’s seventh point does not mention Israel directly but speaks of “the countries of the region.”

DENIES BEING AT ODDS WITH BEGIN

While making these remarks yesterday, Arens denied that he was at odds with Begin who has rejected the plan totally, calling it a means for Israel’s liquidation in stages. Arens said the plan included demands and conditions which are “totally unacceptable to Israel.” While he did not list them, the Fahd plan calls for Israel’s complete withdrawal to its pre-1967 borders and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

After the Knesset group’s meeting today with White House Counsellor Edwin Meese and National Security Advisor Richard Allen, Arens said he rejects the Fahd plan completely and denied he had seen some good in it. At the same time, he stressed today, and last night, that Israel is willing to have “direct negotiations” with the Saudis at any time either in Israel or Saudi Arabia.

Arens said that in the group’s talks with Administration officials it was “clear” that there is a difference between Israel and the U.S. on the Saudi plan. He said the Knesset group, which includes three Likud members and three members of the opposition Labor Alignment, explained Israel’s position to the American officials and expressed concern about what they perceived as a change in the U.S. attitude in recent weeks. He did not elaborate on this.

Arens stressed that the group also explained Israel’s concern over new armaments to the Middle East from the Soviet Union, Western Europe and “now the U.S.” He said Israel feared this new increase in armaments to Arab countries may cause Israel to lose its military “edge” in the region. He noted today that when the 62 F-15 jets the U.S. sold Saudi Arabia in 1978 receive the enhancement equipment approved in the recent $8.5 billion arms sale, the Saudis will have military “hardware” equal to Israel’s F-15s.

Asked about the recent Israeli overflight of Saudi Arabia, Arens stressed that Saudi Arabia fought in every war against Israel and has never signed an armistice with the Jewish State. He noted that the Saudis have massed troops and military equipment only 150 miles from Israel’s border. (See P.3 for separate story on U.S. reaction to the Saudi plan.)