Cabinet Postpones Decision

The Cabinet agreed at its meeting today, to postpone any decision and to continue to seek clarification from the United States regarding the components of a proposed interim agreement with Egypt in Sinai. The ministers heard

Ambassador Simcha Dinitz’s report on his most recent contacts with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and Undersecretary of State Joseph J. Sisco. The envoy reviewed bilateral relations between Israel and the U.S. and replied to questions from various ministers, according to a brief communique issued after the Cabinet meeting.

After a seven-hour session, the Cabinet unanimously agreed to a proposal by Premier Yitzhak Rabin, “to seek elucidation and clarification with the United States regarding the components of the agreement with Egypt,” the communique said. Simcha Dinitz, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., is due to return to Washington tomorrow. Rabin, who begins an official visit to West Germany Tuesday, is expected to meet Kissinger in Bonn, but no arrangements have been formalized.

DENIES ULTIMATUM WAS ISSUED

On his arrival from Washington Friday, Dinitz told reporters that neither President Ford nor Kissinger had issued an ultimatum to Israel. He suggested that the current temroh stemmed from disappointment over the unsatisfactory response from Egypt to Israeli proposals for a second-stage interim accord and from speculation by the press, which, according to Dinitz, did not always coincide with the facts.

(Kissinger, appearing on an ABC-television interview yesterday, urged Israel to “take a chance” and make territorial concessions in the interests of an interim agreement with Egypt. He suggested that the degree of American support for Israel depended on what concessions were made.)

Dinitz said in reply to questions by Cabinet ministers that there is no embargo on American arms to Israel and that all previously signed agreements are being carried out. He admitted, however, that no further agreements for arms supplies are being made pending the completion of the Ford Administration’s reassessment of U.S.-Middle East policy.

MINUTE OF SILENCE OBSERVED

The Cabinet rose and observed a minute’s silence today in memory of the 13 persons killed in Friday’s terrorist bombing in Jerusalem. Rabin expressed the government’s condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery. He expressed appreciation to the police, the security forces and the health and auxiliary services for their handling of the tragic incident and their efforts to return Jerusalem to normal life “so far as one can return to normal after such an event.”