Senate Democratic Majority Leader Robert Byrd of West Virginia said today that “The 96th Congress, while emphasizing fiscal restraint at home, will be reluctant to increase Israeli aid while Israel continues to spend on the proliferation of new settlements on the West Bank.” Byrd voiced his warming to Israel at a press conference here following his return from a 16-day tour of the Middle East that included Israel and Egypt. He made the trip as a special emissary of President Carter.
The Senate leader said that Congress would not favor any aid, direct or indirect, that subsidized settlements regarded as illegal by the U.S. He also urged Israel to make a “meaningful gesture” to show that it intended to resolve the issues of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He said his talks with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Premier Menachem Begin of Israel made him optimistic that a peace treaty would be concluded between the two countries.
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