Eban: if Russians Want Peace in the Mideast They Have Only to Remove Missiles

Israel’s Foreign Minister Abba Eban told National Press Club luncheon guests here today that if the Russians want peace in the Middle East “they have this week and next week to prove it by removing the obstacles to it.” Mr. Eban referred to the Soviet missiles which Israel charges have been installed in the Suez standstill cease-fire zone in violation of the 90-day truce due to expire Nov. 5. Mr. Eban said that Israel would continue to observe the cease-fire beyond that deadline. He said the four main objectives of Israeli policy are to prolong the cease-fire; to bring about the “correction and rectification” of the original cease-fire violations; to maintain Israel’s margin of strength; and to explore wherever possible the principals and procedures of peace “not as a juridical formula but as a human condition.”

Addressing an Israel Bonds dinner here last night, Mr. Eban said that if “there is a will for peace, the necessary compromises can be made,” an apparent reference to Israel’s quest for a just and lasting peace. He told the nearly 1,000 guests attending the event that the issue was not Arab self-determination which he said was “assured.” The “moral imperative” in the Middle East conflict, be said, was Israel’s security. Mr. Eban stated that it is “a fantasy and absurdity for the Arabs to contemplate an Arab Middle East without an Israel.” He said that if Egypt and the Soviet Union wanted peace talks resumed, “they know what to do–take the missiles back and reconstruct the situation” in the Suez Canal zone to what it was when the current cease-fire started last Aug. 7. Sales of $948,000 in bonds were announced last night, bringing to $3.8 million sales this year in a campaign to reach $4.5 million in sales, which was described as a goal 50 percent higher than that of the previous year. In his address to the Israel Bond dinner, Mr. Eban appealed to American Jews for unprecedented financial aid.