Dayan, Under Fire from Cabinet, Promises Not to Voice Views Publicly

Defense Minister Moshe Dayan came under fire from his colleagues at today’s Cabinet meeting and promised to abstain from giving public expression to his views on the Jarring peace talk and the cease-fire if they ran counter to government policy. Gen. Dayan has been widely quoted in recent weeks as advocating Israel’s return to the Jarring talks without special conditions and proposing a mutual disengagement of Israeli and Egyptian forces in the Suez Canal zone. Gen. Dayan’s views were not criticized on their merits but because they were voiced publicly. Foreign Minister Abba Eban was especially incensed. He reportedly said the publicity given the Defense Minister’s proposal to return to the Jarring talks without “rectification” of Egyptian truce violations made him “look foolish” at a time when he was negotiating with the United States. An official communique issued after today’s cabinet meeting said the government “will act in accordance with the Prime Minister’s statement to the Knesset on Nov. 16 for the creation of conditions which will justify implementation of the government’s Aug. 4 resolution.” The latter resolution, approved by the Knesset, represented Israel’s acceptance of the American Mideast peace initiative including a 90-day cease-fire and indirect peace talks with the Arabs under the auspices of United Nations envoy Gunnar V. Jarring.

Mrs. Meir said in a Knesset speech last Monday that Israel was prepared to resume the Jarring talks “if the proper conditions for this are created.” The nature of those conditions was on the agenda of today’s cabinet meeting but no decision was reached and at least one more session will be required to work out a formula, informed sources said. Foreign Minister Eban reported to Premier Meir yesterday on his latest talks with U.S. officials. Mr. Eban returned to Israel Friday. Foreign Ministry officials said Friday that Mr. Eban obtained “very satisfactory American pledges requiring additional economic aid and arms supplies.” They would neither confirm nor deny press reports that the U.S. will give Israel an additional $200 million in 1971 beyond the $500 million already ear-marked for Israel in the Pentagon’s fiscal 1971 authorization bill. There was no evidence that Mr. Eban succeeded in persuading the U.S. to replace its present day-to-day arms aid with a contractual agreement running into 1972.

According to reports published abroad Friday. UN envoy Jarring indicated in New York last week that he holds Israel responsible for the breakdown of the Jarring talks and had appealed to the Israeli leaders “more than once” to resume the discussions. Dr. Jarring returned to his ambassadorial post in Moscow last week with the understanding that he would be available on short notice at UN headquarters in New York “if conditions warranted.” Official sources reported today that Defense Minister Dayan dissociated himself with recently published accounts of his views on the Jarring talks and the cease-fire. Gen. Dayan indicated that his proposed disengagement in the Suez zone was misunderstood. He was not advocating an Israeli withdrawal without a peace settlement but merely a reduction of the heavy military concentrations on both sides of the canal. This would strengthen the cease-fire and allow Egyptian civilians to return to the canal zone and could ultimately lead to the re-opening of the waterway, sources said. Gen. Dayan suggested that the demilitarized strips could be policed by light patrols on both sides. He reportedly believes that chances for achieving a real peace with Egypt are minimal at this time and that Israel should consider an interim arrangement which would prevent a renewal of fighting.