The Cabinet yesterday spelled out the conditions for the withdrawal of Israel’s forces from Lebanon. In a six-point resolution it adopted after a four-hour meeting, the Cabinet declared:
“Israel continues to strive for a peace treaty with Lebanon. The government of Israel proposes to open negotiations immediately for the evacuation of all foreign forces from all Lebanese territory. The first to leave Lebanon will be the terrorists, who, even after the evacuation of their organizations and headquarters from Beirut, are still concentrated in the Bekao and in the northern part at the country.
“The Syrian army and the IDF will leave Lebanon simultaneously. All Israeli prisoners, the missing, and the bodies of the fallen will be handed over to the IDF before the evacuation. Prior to the evacuation, security arrangements will be established which will guarantee that Lebanon will not again revert to becoming a base and launching ground for aggressive acts of hostile forces against Israel.”
Cabinet secretary Dan Meridor told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that a peace agreement with Lebanon was not a precondition for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon. However, during the Cabinet meeting Defense Minister Ariel Sharon insisted that a peace agreement should not be viewed as a gift given by Lebanon to Israel but as a mutual defense pact needed by both countries to assure their security.
He charged that the United States was hampering Israel’s effort to achieve a peace treaty by trying to prevent direct contacts between the governments of Israel and Lebanon Sharon had made a similar charge three days earlier when he told a meeting of former members of the Irgun: “If there is an element which today is hindering the move towards an Israel-Lebanon peace agreement, it is the United States.”
He charged that the U.S. was thus acting in its own interests, adding: “I do not want to elaborate at the moment.” Sharon’s attack on the U.S. was seen as the sharpest yet by a government official.
However, Sharon’s view of the U.S. and the need to reach a peace accord with Lebanon was not unanimously accepted by the Cabinet. Deputy Premier David Levy and Communications Minister Mordechai Zipori said arrangements with Lebanon should be made in coordination with the U.S.
Levy said that he, too, would like to reach an immediate peace accord with Lebanon, but the question is whether this goal is feasible. Other ministers also expressed doubt about reaching an agreement with Lebanon, especially at this time when the government of President Amin Gemayel is still trying to consolidate its power.
According to Cabinet sources, Deputy Premier Simcha Ehrlich told Sharon to present evidence to prove his charge that the U.S. was seeking to hamper Israel’s effort to obtain a peace accord with Lebanon “or desist from further attacks on our closest friend and ally, the U.S.” Zipori accused Sharon of making “reckless charges and further endangering Israel’s position,” the sources said.
SEEKING 45-50 KILOMETER SECURITY ZONE
Meanwhile, it was reported by The Jerusalem Post that Sharon would like to retain a 45-50 kilometer security zone in southern Lebanon. The area, according to the Post, covers almost completely the total region presently held by Israeli forces. But it is somewhat unclear where the distance is to be measured from.
If the point of departure is the coastal area of Rosh Hanikra north of Nahariya, the line could be between Tyre and Sidon. But if the line is drawn from Metulla, Israel’s most northerly point at the tip of the Galilee panhandle, the line would reach to Damour, just south of Beirut.
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