Cheysson Warns Israel As France Pushes Initiative to Preventing Beirut Battle

French Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson warned here today that an Israeli attack on west Beirut “destroying Beirut or shelling it to death would be a real crime against humanity.” Cheysson, who was speaking in the French National Assembly, said France is deploying major diplomatic efforts to prevent a battle in the Lebanese capital and to “safeguard the honor and the dignity of the Palestinians.”

He said President Francois Mitterrand is sending special envoys to a number of foreign countries to obtain increased backing for the French initiative. “Some progress has been made–by now, even the Israelis and Americans admit that it would be wrong to try and humiliate the Palestinians,” he said.

Cheysson did not reveal what the French initiative consisted of but diplomatic sources say it is a plan to evacuate the Palestinian terrorists trapped in Beirut to Cairo, presumably either on French ships or at least under the escort of French naval vessels.

EGYPTIAN-ISRAELI RELATIONS ATTACKED

Cheysson today conferred for the second time with Egyptian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Boutros Ghali, reportedly to try and map out joint Franco-Egyptian action. Ghali also conferred with Mitterrand yesterday, immediately after his arrival in Paris.

Speaking on French television and radio today, Ghali said Israeli-Egyptian relations “have been affected by the Israeli aggression in Lebanon” and indicated that the peace prescribed by the Camp David Agreements has been hurt as well.

Ghali renewed President Hosni Mubarak’s offer for a Palestinian government in exile to settle in Cairo but said that its actions will have to be strictly political and diplomatic. “Egypt will not allow them (the Palestinians) to undertake any military operations from Egypt,” he said. “We have signed a peace treaty with Israel and we are respecting it to the letter.”