Cabinet Devotes Much of Its Meeting to Clearing the Air over Criticism of Weapons Purchase List Voic

The Cabinet met for eight hours today, two of them occupied by Premier Rabin’s report on his recent talks in Washington and much of the rest of the time devoted to “clearing the air” over the criticism of Israel’s weapons purchase list voiced by a “senior source” in Rabin’s party in Washington Jan. 29.

The nub of the Premier’s report on his talks with President Ford. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and other top Administration officials was that the overall situation in the Middle East was in a state of flux and that neither the U.S. nor Israel was entirely sure what direction events of the immediate future will take.

Rabin reportedly did not rule out either reconvening of the Geneva talks or the possibility of interim talks with Jordan on the West Bank. However, he did not hold out great hopes for either course and it appeared from today’s Cabinet session that efforts will proceed on several fronts in the weeks ahead. One informed observer described the coming weeks as a “testing period” for the future course of Middle East diplomacy.

The domestic political storm raised by the “senior source’s” charge that the military purchase list drafted by the Defense establishment was sloppy, inflated and reflected no honor on the State was thrashed out in the Cabinet meeting which, according to some participants was “tense” at times. Rabin, as had been expected, did not exculpate himself of blame for the mistakes embodied in the list.

He reiterated to the Cabinet what he told repor- ters on his return from the U.S. Friday–that a “corrective list” had been submitted to Washington which omitted certain items contained in the original list that had been presented to the U.S. in mid-December. Rabin had said Friday that the earlier list provided ammunition for circles in Washington unsympathetic to Israel and added. “I am happy we had the courage to admit our mistake and correct it.”

PERES, SEVERAL MINISTERS ASSAIL RABIN

Defense Minister Shimon Peres, the prime target of criticism over the original weapons list, spoke for an hour at today’s Cabinet meeting. He explained in detail the work that went into compiling the weapons list at General Headquarters and at his Ministry and he bluntly assailed Rabin for the tone of the remarks made in Washington which, Peres contended, were neither fair nor justified.

Several ministers joined Peres in his criticism of the Premier. One Cabinet member said later that he believed the original weapons list was a good projection of Israel’s long-range need but that the circumstances of American reality in December had made it necessary and prudent to whittle down the list.

The Cabinet as a whole appears anxious to let the entire matter fade away and focus attention on the political and diplomatic aspects of the Premier’s visit. Nevertheless, Rabin seems assured of his party’s solid support when he faces a Likud non-confidence motion in the Knesset tomorrow evening. The Premier will meet with the Labor Alignment Knesset faction tomorrow before the debate begins.

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF U.S. VISIT

Since his return, Rabin has been stressing the positive aspects of his American visit. He has spoken of coordination with Washington on the “general direction” of policy in the Middle East. He told reporters Friday that Israel and the U.S. have agreed to aim “at peace or something very close to it.” He characterized this as a much more far-reaching goal than that sought during the step-by-step phase of diplomacy. Rabin said that while he and Ford had “not discussed maps” they agreed that in the coming months peace efforts should not focus on one particular Arab state but on all of them.

Several Cabinet “doves” today stressed the need to examine thoroughly the prospects of interim negotiations with Jordan. Sources close to Rabin have not discouraged speculation that Ford agreed to examine this possibility with King Hussein when the latter visits Washington next month.

Rabin indicated at the Cabinet meeting that this process is as yet in its tentative stages and much would depend on the extent to which Hussein may be willing to jeopardize his improved relations with the other Arab states, notably Syria, by entering into interim talks with Israel and thereby challenging the 1974 Arab summit decision at Rabat to designate the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole spokesman for the Palestinian people.

Police Minister Shlomo Hillel and Transportation Minister Gad Yaacobi spoke out against the “Jordanian option” at today’s Cabinet meeting and were supported by the National Religious Party ministers. The Cabinet “hawks” appeared to favor a reconvened Geneva conference as the next step in Middle East diplomacy.