The Democratic Movement for Change (DMC) presented Likud today with an eight-point guideline for its participation in a coalition government headed by Likud. Today’s meeting, which some circles had predicted would be the crucial one in Likud-DMC coalition talks, lasted only 10 minutes. Likud leader Menachem Begin glanced through the pages of the DMC guidelines and announced that the two parties would meet again Thursday after Likud studies the DMC’s proposals.
It was learned that three of the DMC’s points could be serious stumbling blocks to an agreement between the DMC and Likud. According to informed sources, the DMC would retain as a coalition guideline Begin’s statement that Israel has an “historic right to the whole of Eretz Israel.” But the DMC wants to add that Israel would announce its readiness for negotiations on the basis of territorial concessions in exchange for a genuine, contractual peace agreement.
Another touchy point concerns settlements in the administered territories. The DMC reportedly proposed that settlements in areas other than the Golan Heights, the Jordan Valley and the Rafah salient must be approved in advance by all parties that are partners to the coalition. That would mean that any party could veto Jewish settlements in the Judaea-Samaria regions. The other regions were exempted presumably because they are considered vital to Israel’s security.
Finally, the DMC said it would not oppose the application of Israeli law to the administered territories provided that it is not done while preliminary moves toward negotiations with the Arabs or actual negotiations are in progress.
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