Begin Convinced Problems Between U.S. and Israel Can Be Solved

Premier Menachem Begin acknowledged today that there are “certain problems” between Israel and the U.S. but they are “nothing new” and he is convinced that it will be possible to solve them. He made his remarks to reporters at Ben Gurion Airport prior to his departure on a visit to the U.S. and Canada. (See separate story for Begin’s arrival in New York.)

He said some problems still remain “open” in the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty negotiations in Washington and that “when in the U.S. I will take part, together with my colleagues, in trying to solve these open problems, not as a member of the negotiating team but in our internal consultations.”

With respect to the negotiations at Blair House, Begin observed that “in the last days we succeeded in overcoming a number of difficult problems in the negotiations for a peace treaty with the Egyptians but there are still problems that need solution.” (See related story from Washington.)

Begin insisted that he did not feel uneasy or even inconvenienced over the differences with the U.S. He said they stemmed from the American contention that the West Bank settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace while “we claim that settlements are both legal and helping to bring peace.” He repeated that “we shall add hundreds of families to the settlements.”

Asked about the White House announcement that President Carter would not be meeting with him, Begin repeated that he had not asked for a meeting. “I have met with President Carter five times already. I did not ask for a meeting this time,” he said. However, he disclosed that he had asked U.S. Ambassador Samuel Lewis for the full text of the transcript of the White House announcement that Carter would not meet with him. The transcript was received before Begin left Israel. The Premier will meet with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in New York tomorrow morning.

CLAIM U.S. EXERTING PRESSURE

Meanwhile, Israeli circles are claiming that the U.S. has started to exert pressure on Israel. They regard the postponement of a top level Pentagon mission to Israel as an expression of the Administration’s displeasure over Israel’s settlement policy on the West Bank. The mission was intended to study Israel’s future needs for American military assistance. A similar mission to Egypt was postponed.

The feeling that the delay was deliberate persisted despite assurances by Pentagon and State Department spokesmen that the U.S. would not use its military supply relationship with Israel as a form of political or any other kind of pressure. A technical team of U.S. Air Force and Army Corps of Engineers experts is due here Sunday to explore the construction of two new air bases in the Negev to replace the air bases Israel will give up when it withdraws from Sinai.