The Cabinet will meet tomorrow united in anger over U.S. support for the Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s settlement policies in the occupied Arab territories and East Jerusalem but apparently divided over how to respond. The Cabinet is to deal with the controversial issue of resettling Jews in Hebron. A number of ministers are expected to insist that no decision be taken at this time.
These ministers are expected to argue that any decision to move Jews into Hebron might be interpreted as a deliberate provocation of Washington. Some circles here are suggesting that the government do a little more thinking on the subject before making its next move. Premier Menachem Begin is said to favor a compromise proposal to establish a yeshiva in Hebron but not to place Jewish families there at this time. According to one political analyst, that proposal “will orientate both the hawks who want a real Jewish presence in the city and the doves who want to stay out of Arab populated areas altogether.”
UNEXPECTED SUPPORT FROM RABIN
Meanwhile, the government’s settlement
According to Rabin, who is an outspoken critic of the Begin government, Israel’s response should be “to put up new settlements, at least in those areas such as the Jordan Valley and around Jerusalem where a national consensus agreed they are necessary for our security.” He suggested that Israel launch a massive information campaign against the American vote but advised against recalling Ephraim Evron, Israel’s Ambassador from Washington, a move suggested by some Knesset members and newspapers.
Rabin described the Security Council vote as an “unprecedented and stinging slop in the face for America’s only real ally in the Mideast. “He charged that the U.S. vote was part of on effort to recruit Moslem countries in a campaign against the Soviet Union at Israel’s expense.
The reaction of West Bank leaders to the Security Council vote was a mixture of satisfaction and skepticism. The East Jerusalem newspaper Al Quds said it was “just another resolution for the archives.” But Mayor Elias Freij of Bethlehem said U.S. support for the resolution was a new phenomenon at the right time.
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