Israel’s dissatisfaction with Egypt seemed to grow stronger today with several senior ministers issuing sharp public warnings and criticisms and some Herut politicians openly urging a postponement of the final Sinai withdrawal on April 25.
These developments came as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Walter Stoessel prepared for a diplomatic rescue mission to Israel and Egypt. Designed to patch up the disputes between the two countries before the withdrawal deadline, Stoessel will arrive in Israel Wednesday night and meet with Premier Menachem Begin Thursday.
Regarding the other current crisis, over the situation in the north, tension appeared to lessen somewhat following Begin’s assurance to U.S. Ambassador Samuel Lewis last night that the Israel government had not decided to go into Lebanon “in any way shape or form.” Lewis repeated this assurance to newsmen, and Begin himself reasserted it at a meeting today with visiting U.S. Congressmen.
At the same time, however, Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and other ministers warned publicly today that the government would fulfill “its duty to defend the citizens of Israel” and would strike at the Palestine Liberation Organization “when and how it sees fit.” Sharon made those remarks at a convention of “Young Herut” in Jerusalem and Trade Minister Gideon Patt echoed them while visiting a factory in the northern kibbutz of Hanita.
As regards Egypt, officials here still steer clear of the word “crisis” in describing the present situation. But they do speak of a “crisis of confidence,” and are united in their insistence that Egypt must respond to a string of Israeli complaints before the Sinai withdrawal deadline is at hand.
Begin remarked to the U.S. Congressmen today that while Israel’s compliance with the terms of the peace treaty is “scrupulous” Egypt’s is sometimes not so. Both Begin and Shamir, in their meetings with the Congressmen, a delegation of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed the hope the problems could be “overcome.”
The U.S. diplomatic effort to shore up the peace treaty and see it safely through the April 25 deadline got under way today when Assistant Secretary of State Nicholas Veliotes met for several hours with Israel’s top leaders.
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