The announcement by the White House today that Vice President Walter Mondale will visit Israel from June 29-July 3 was seen by some observers here as an effort to influence the government to reply in a positive manner to U.S. questions on the future of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, now confronting the Cabinet.
The observers, who are not connected with the government, suggested that the atmosphere between Jerusalem and Washington would be severely strained if Israel offered a negative reply and that would cloud the Mondale visit. They reason that, with Mondale’s visit imminent, the Cabinet will be influenced to formulate a positive reply. Government officials, however, were reluctant to endorse that view. They said the announcement of Mondale’s visit at a time when the Cabinet faces a crisis over the formulation of a reply to the U.S. was coincidental.
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