Javits Says He Will Present Israel’s Views on Transitional Aid when He Returns to Washington

Sen. Jacob K, Javits (R.NY). after meeting with Premier Yitzhak Rabin today, said that when he returns to Washington he will “honestly and eloquently” present Rabin’s views on the $550 million in transitional quarter aid Israel is seeking from the United States. Javits, who arrived here yesterday from Jordan across the Allenby Bridge, disappointed some Israelis who had anticipated he was bringing a message from President Ford on the aid issue. (See related story P.3)

The Ford Administration has opposed providing Israel and other countries receiving American foreign aid with funds to cover the period between the end of the current fiscal year on June 30 and the start of the new one Oct, 1. Javits said Rabin had made a statesmanlike presentation of Israel’s case and had not blamed anyone for the American-Israeli dispute over the aid.

Javits, who was in Cairo earlier this week, reportedly told Rabin that it was his impression that Syria and especially Egypt want a peaceful solution of the Mideast conflict based on a full Israeli pullback to the pre-June 1967 boundaries and a Palestinian state on the West Bank.

Rabin also met today with another Republican donator, Sen. Charles Mathias of Maryland, member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Mathias said he discussed Israel’s needs for 1977 and only touched on the transitional aid. However, he said, he personally favored providing Israel with the funds and expected “some action on this.” next week.

SENATOR MET WITH ARAFAT

(In Washington, Mathias was reported to have met with PLO leader Yasir Arafat somewhere in Lebanon and credited the PLO with preserving order in those parts of Lebanon it controls, including the area near the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. According to the Washington Star, which reported this today, Mathias, who met with Arafat before coming to Israel, was quoted as saying that the PLO is “providing a secure area for U.S. Embassy personnel” and that “the PLO or Fatah are really the only ones providing law and order. If you can so describe it, in that part of Lebanon where they are in control.”

(A State Department spokesman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, after being asked to comment on Mathias’ reported remarks, that the U.S. Embassy in Beirut “has been fairly well protected by various forces. including a neighborhood militia,” during the year-old disturbances in Lebanon. The spokesman added, “Our interest is, of course, the security of the Embassy, not the source of protection in a confused situation.”

(The Star reported that last Friday, Mathias received a call from the Syrian Foreign Ministry inviting him to meet with Arafat. The Senator was quoted as reporting later that he “broke no new ground” with Arafat but “it was useful from my point of view for getting a better understanding of exactly what possibilities for a settlement might exist.” Mathias, the Star noted, did not explain why the Syrians selected him to meet Arafat.)