Israel Takes Serious View of Egyptian Resolution on Jerusalem

Israel has taken a “very serious” view of the resolution adopted by the Egyptian parliament yesterday declaring East Jerusalem to be part of the West Bank Political sources here said it did not contribute to the peace process and could jeopardize the autonomy talks.

The resolution, adopted unanimously by the People’s Council in Cairo, called for the participation by East Jerusalem residents in the elections for on administrative council that would be the self-governing authority on the West Bank under the autonomy plan. It also proposed that the council have its seat in East Jerusalem. It declared “null and void” all measures taken by Israel to change the demographic composition of East Jerusalem which it annexed in 1967.

Premier Menachem Begin was reportedly consulting with Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir on an appropriate reaction to the Egyptian resolution. One proposal is a unanimous statement by the Knesset, supported by the coalition and opposition factions, reaffirming the status of Jerusalem as an undivided city and the capital of Israel.

Labor Party chairman Shimon Peres sharply criticized the Egyptian action today. He said it contradicted the Camp David accords and that he could not understand why such a resolution was initiated by the Egyptians on the eve of President Anwar Sadat’s trip to Washington to meet with President Carter and Begin’s meeting with Carter later this month.

The Egyptian motivation was a source of speculation today. Some Israeli circles saw it as an attempt to bring the subject of Jerusalem’s future status into the autonomy talks through the “back does.” Israel has made it clear that it will not discuss Jerusalem in any context. Another possibility, according to Israeli observers, is that the resolution was intended to counter the growing opposition in Egypt to the normalization process with Israel and to raise tensions between Egypt and Israel on the eve of the Washington talks.