The Inner Cabinet decided after protracted debate Wednesday to phase out Israel’s relationships with South Africa, particularly its trade in military equipment and technology.
Although there will be no abrogation of current military contracts, Israel will not enter into new ones with the Pretoria regime. Overall relationships with South Africa will also be reduced over a period of time. Details of the new policy will be worked out by a special Cabinet-appointed team which will have two months to complete the task.
Those decisions represent Israel’s response to possible reprisals by the U.S. Congress against countries selling weapons and military equipment to South Africa. Congress enacted sanctions against South Africa over President Reagan’s veto and appears likely to cut off or reduce American aid to countries that continue to do business with the apartheid government.
According to press reports, the value of existing military contracts with South Africa is estimated at between $200 million and $500 million annually, most involving transfer of technology rather than weapons.
OPPOSING VIEWS ON SANCTIONS
Despite that threat, the Inner Cabinet (five Labor and five Likud Ministers) took five hours of sometimes heated debate to reach its decisions. Likud Minister of Commerce and Industry Ariel Sharon spoke for the ministerial faction opposed to sanctions. He maintained that Israel could stand up to American pressure on the issue.
But Foreign Minister Shimon Peres warned that Israel’s international standing could suffer if it refused to join the West in sanctions. He was especially wary of Israel’s relations with the U.S., already strained by the Jonathan Pollard spy case and the Iran-Contra arms sale scandal.
Surprisingly, Peres won the support of both Premier Yitzhak Shamir and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The new policy will deprive Israel of South African coal on which it relies heavily for its electric power plants. Peres said, however, that Israel could fill its coal needs from the People’s Republic of China or Australia.
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