Finance Minister Yoram Aridor of Israel confirmed here that he strongly opposed the 4.4 billion Shekel ($250 million) compensation offer by the Israel government to the settlers of Yamit, the town in northern Sinai to be returned to Egypt when Israel withdraws from the area in April. However, Aridor, who is here on behalf of Israel Bonds, refused to spell out his views further on the grounds that they should only be expressed in Israel.
Addressing leading Jewish businessmen Tuesday night, he made clear that the high compensation for the settlers conflicted with his pledge to reduce government expenditure in 1982 as a contribution to further reducing Israel’s inflation. On foreign policy, Aridor said that Israel could be a target of Soviet imperialism in the Middle East just as Poland was in Europe.
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