Israel Surprised by Egyptian Reaction to Rabin’s Proposal for Face-to-face Talks; Precedents Cited

Israeli officials were visibly surprised today by the sharp reactions generated in Egypt and elsewhere by Premier Yitzhak Rabin’s insistence on face-to-face talks at the final stages of the current negotiations for an interim settlement with Egypt. The officials pointed out that there were precedents for this demand in both the Israel-Egypt and Israel-Syria disengagement agreements of last year.

Rabin aired the demand in a speech yesterday to the American Women’s Mizrachi convention in Jerusalem. Egypt’s first reaction was to brand the demand a “new Israeli obstacle,” Other Western observers tended to see it as a stalling tactic. But officials in Jerusalem said there was nothing new or revolutionary in it. It had been understood–by Israel at least–throughout the negotiations, that if they proved successful they would end with a face-to-face session between the two parties to work out details, the officials said.

Israeli and Egyptian generals and aides met at the Kilometer 101 checkpoint several times during the disengagement talks. The same happened between Israel and Syria–although then the venue was Geneva. On both occasions the UN chairman (UNEF commander Gen. Ensio Siilasvuo) acted as intermediary and the parties addressed each other through him.

It is believed that Israel, while preferring of course direct discussions without an intermediary (Gen. Aharon Yariv and Gen. Mohammed Gemassy of Egypt held informal direct discussions when the formal, direct ones threatened to break down), would agree to the indirect pattern this time too. The sessions would probably take place in Geneva, immediately prior to the signing Because of the complexity of the present accord, the face-to-face talks would probably take longer than those held during the disengagement negotiations, observers here believed.