Premier Menachem Begin said today that Israel will “conduct in good faith” negotiations to reach an agreement on autonomy for the Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
But at the same time, as Israel relinquished the final portion of Sinai to Egypt in accordance with the Camp David agreement, Begin said Israel would not tolerate any Egyptian breach of the peace treaty.
“If at any time, they should commit a breach of their commitments under the peace treaty, then Israel’s reaction will be swift,” Begin said in an interview on NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press” program broadcast via satellite from the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. The Israeli Premier did not indicate what Israel would consider as constituting such a breach or how Israel would react. The scheduled half-hour program was cut short by some 10 minutes because of technical difficulties.
On the issue of autonomy, Begin said that the proposal by Israel to allow 13 local functions to be administered by the ruling Palestinian authorities is “the widest ever suggested to any ethnical group.” As for the criticism of the government’s ouster of three democratically elected mayors on the West Bank and Gaza, Begin said the mayors were either members of the Palestine Liberation Organization or identified with the PLO. He added that the mayors tried to undermine security in the area and were in touch with PLO chief Yasir Arafat.
He rejected the contention that the Reagon Administration would “change” its relations with Israel following the Sinai withdrawal. Begin said he had no indication “that the U.S. government will change its course and use pressure against Israel. But if at any time we face pressure, we shall press back.”
The Premier said that regarding the Golan Heights, Israel could not return it to Syria because it would be unable to monitor a breach in any agreement. He said that the Golan Law, which applied Israeli law and jurisdiction to the Heights last December, would continue to stand under any negotiated settlement for the Heights. He rejected outright any comparison between the Golan and Sinai.
Concerning Israel’s air raid into Lebanon last week, Begin justified this because of PLO actions which the Premier said killed 17 Israelis and wounded another 250 men, women and children. But he said, “If they are quiet on the other side, we shall keep peace on our side.”
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