Israelis Cool to Fahd’s Offer

Israeli government circles gave a cool reception to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Fahd’s statement that his country would help bring other Arab nations and the Palestinians into “a full and final peace settlement” with Israel if the latter gave its undertaking to withdraw from all Arab territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.

Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir said today that Israel was ready to negotiate with the Saudis with no preconditions. But he told a group of visiting American Congressmen that there was nothing new in Fahd’s statement made in an interview with Katherine Graham, publisher of The Washington Post. According to Shamir, the Saudis have given no indication that they would be prepared to negotiate on the basis of Security Council Resolution 242.

Other Israeli circles dismissed Fahd’s offer as “gimmicks” and said similar statements have been mode over the years since 1967. They saw “nothing new and nothing serious” in the latest remarks. Fahd’s interview with Ms. Graham was published yesterday in The Washington Post.

Post correspondent Jim Hoagland reported from Riyadh that it represented a significant advance because in the past the Saudis had always insisted on a detailed timetable for Israeli withdrawal. Now, according to Hoagland, the Saudi strong man has said “there can be a program for withdrawal to be discussed, to be negotiated.” He also endorsed Resolution 242 which no Saudi leader has done so forthrightly in the past, Hoagland said.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, Egyptian Defense Minister Kamal Hassan Ali told reporters that his country’s position was not different from that of Saudi Arabia as enunciated by Prince Fahd. “This is a Saudi message to Israel that Arab countries are ready to join the peace talks if Israel is prepared to give up the occupied Arab territories,” Ali said.