Israel Remains Firm on Opposition to 4 Power Talks Despite Possible Harm to Image

Government circles know that their opposition to the Four Power Mideast talks now going on in New York may be damaging to Israel’s image abroad but they will not be deterred from making Israel’s views known in every possible way, diplomatic sources said here today. The Government view is that Israel’s survival could be at stake and that that is far more important than making a good impression overseas. Israelis believe that the sole outcome of the talks so far has been to worsen the immediate situation in the Middle East. They are deeply concerned that a Big Power deal might emerge that could be worse for Israel than no settlement at all, the sources said.

Israeli officials point out that since the talks started, new heavy fighting has flared along the Suez Canal front and the Israel-Jordan demarcation line. The United Nations’ special peace envoy, Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring has withdrawn from the scene and has returned to his post as Sweden’s Ambassador to Moscow. Both of these developments, according to Israelis, bode ill for chances of peace.

The main worry here, however, is that the United States and the Soviet Union may reach an agreement on the Vietnam war, nuclear disarmament or other global matters which could affect the American attitude toward the Middle East conflict. This, Israeli officials say, would be detrimental to Israel which regards anything less than a signed peace treaty with the Arabs worse than nothing at all.

Israeli diplomats say, however, that the views stated last week by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to a delegation representing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations are reflected in official U.S. communications to Israel and represent the stand taken by the U.S. in the Four Power talks. Mr. Rogers assured the delegation that the U.S. still favored a contractual agreement between Israel and the Arab states and had no intention of imposing a solution on the area.