Ehrlich Denies Resignation Threat over Settlements Issue but Identifies Fully with Weizman

A spokesman for Finance Minister Simcha Ehrlich denied today reports that Ehrlich has threatened to resign over settlement policy. He made it clear, however, that the Finance Minister identifies fully with Defense Minister Ezer Weizman on that issue.

Rumors that Ehrlich had threatened to quit circulated yesterday after it was leamed that Weizman, currently in the U.S. to discuss Israel’s weapons needs with American officials, had telephoned Premier Menachem Begin on Monday to warn that he would resign if development work continued at Gush Emunim settlements on the West Bank in defiance of his ministry’s orders to halt such work. It was reported subsequently that Ehrlich said if Weizman resigned, he would do the same.

Weizman and Ehrlich represent a Cabinet faction that wants all settlement activity frozen for the duration of the current peace negotiations. Their dispute with Cabinet hardliners, headed by Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon, has been an open secret in political circles here for some time.

It became public yesterday as a result of Weizman’s call to Begin which also raised doubts about the ability of Begin to control his own ministers. In some quarters, the Likud-led coalition was seen as hopelessly divided and floundering at a moment of the most delicate diplomatic negotiations that could determine Israel’s future.

Some observers said Weizman acted in an unstatesmanlike way and accused him of disregarding the fact that he is on an important official mission for the government. Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin who is Acting Defense Minister, announced yesterday that Weizman’s orders to halt development work at Beit El and Nebi Saleh on the West Bank would be carried out faithfully and therefore there was no cause for him to resign.

Yadin made that point several times in the course of a radio interview. He also said that when Begin returns from Washington, the Cabinet as a whole would have to address itself to the “intolerable” present situation in which differences between ministers are made public.

Meanwhile, in a statement conveyed here today from the U.S., Weizman expressed regret that the issue had been publicized and claimed it was “partially distorted.” He stressed the extreme sensitivity of the settlement issue and the “agitation” it naturally creates when it is the subject of “clarification” between policy-makers. Weizman added that “absolute secrecy” was required in these debates and regretted that in this case it was breached.

CHALLENGE TO BEGIN SEEN AS PRECEDENT

Nevertheless, observers here believe that whatever attempts are made to paper over the rift, the scars of this week’s events will remain deep in the fiber of Israeli politics. Weizman’s direct challenge to Begin was seen as a precedent, and the fact that he was supported implicitly by Ehrlich was given considerable impact to its potentia threat.

The observers said the lines have been clearly drawn and if another row erupts on settlement-related issues, Begin would be hard-pressed to survive an all-out challenge by Weizman. Should the Defense Minister resign, the repercussions would be felt not only in the Likud bloc itself but through the entire coalition structure.

To what extent the American Administration will seek to exploit these differences remains to be seen. Some here fear that this internal dispute came at an inopportune time and could open the way for Washington to drive a wedge between moderates and hardliners in the Israeli government or even to conclude that Begin can be dislodged in favor of more moderate political forces.

The Gush Emunim, meanwhile, declared war on the government’s settlement policy and vowed to continue their settlement drive on the West Bank regardless of the consequences. Several hundred Gush followers demonstrated outside the Knesset this morning. They claimed that the government had betrayed those who voted it into power and demanded to know “who runs the country, Begin or Weizman?”