Premier Menachem Begin has assured President Reagan, in a letter that Israel will refrain from using force in south Lebanon as long as there is no provocation and political efforts continue toward a solution of the problems in that region. He also reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to be out of Sinai by next April but indicated that it would make no further concessions with respect to autonomy on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Begin recalled that as far back as the Camp David meetings in 1978, Israel had rejected Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s proposal to grant the Palestinians self-determination and made it clear there has been no change from that position. He stressed that Israel was exercising restraint with respect to Syrian anti-aircraft missiles deployed in Lebanon in order to give the U.S. a chance to find a political solution. He also emphasized the great difficulties attending Israel’s final withdrawal from Sinai.
LINOWITZ RULES OUT ROLE IN AUTONOMY TALKS
Begin will meet tomorrow with Sol Linowitz who was special U.S. Ambassador to the autonomy talks in the Carter Administration. Linowitz arrived here today from Egypt on what he said was a private trip to the Middle East. He ruled out any possibility that he might once again undertake a mission in connection with the autonomy negotiations.
But, he told reporters, “I have always thought an agreement was possible. I continue to believe it. There are no insoluable problems and if the parties will sit down together and work conscientiously. I am sure an agreement can be reached.” However, he did not think it would be reached by next April.
Linowitz had a meeting with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in Cairo yesterday and met with Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir here today. He said he would give Begin a message from Mubarak tomorrow which “covered substantive issues.”
Linowitz said he found Mubarak to be “unequivocal in his assurance that he remained firmly committed to the Camp David process, his hope to move forward in the autonomy negotiations and the promise of ultimately reaching an agreement.”
He said Shamir had stressed the importance of accelerating the pace of the negotiations. “In my judgment, there is enough promise of progress so that there should be a more intensified effort to deal with these problems and find solutions,” Linowitz said.
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