Leaked Autonomy Blueprint Causes Anger in Government Circles

The leak of portions of a 300-page blueprint for the West Bank and Gaza Strip envisaging the continuation of virtually absolute Israeli military control of those territor- ies after the Camp David autonomy plan goes into effect, caused consternation in government circles today.

Fear was expressed that the premature disclosures could have serious adverse effects on the new round of negotiations due to open at Camp David later this month. They have already brought angry attacks on the government from leaders of the Labor opposition. There was a growing suspicion that the leak was the work of certain highly placed individuals irrevocably opposed to the Camp David accords and bent on sabotaging them.

Moderate government circles sought to minimize the possible repercussions by insisting that the blueprint was a collation of ideas rather than a definitive plan for autonomy that the leaked pertains were taken out of context and that, in any event, the blueprint was intended as an initial negotiating position, not an ultimate stance. Under the Camp David agreements, Israel and Egypt are to begin negotiating the modalities of autonomy one month after they sign a peace treaty. It was hoped that Jordan would join.

The blueprint was prepared by a special committee consisting of the directors general of key ministries under the chairmanship of Eliahu Ben-Elissar, director general of the Prime Minister’s Office. The committee was appointed after the Camp David frameworks were signed last Sept 17. Its report was submitted to the Cabinet two weeks ago and leaked to Israel Radio over the weekend.

ELEMENTS OF THE BLUEPRINT

According to the blueprint, the Israeli military government would continue on the West Bank and Gaza and would be the legal source of authority for the autonomy authorities. The military government would retain control of “State lands” which comprise about one-fifth of the combined area of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and would also control the water sources for those territories. The military government and the Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, would continue to be in charge of internal security. The autonomous councils would be barred from printing currency, issuing passports or levying customs duties but would be empowered to levy local income taxes.

The blueprint also recommended firmly that certain basic elements should not be open to negotiations. These include that the autonomous authority would apply only to Arabs, not to Jewish settlers in the occupied territories and that Jewish settlement activities would continue under Israeli supervision. It made clear that the autonomous authorities would be barred from any moves that could lead to the evolution of a Palestinian state.

TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT

Premier Menachem Begin said today that he hoped “nothing will disturb” the upcoming peace talks. He was replying to a reporter’s question about the leak. He said it was “out of context” and stressed that the Cabinet had not yet discussed the recommendations, much less adopted them. Justice Minister Shmuel Tamir and Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan reportedly were infuriated by the leak, Tamir hinted that it was clearly in tended to sabotage the peace process.

In Tel Aviv, Labor Party chairman Shimon Peres criticized the blueprint as “ridiculous…in otter contradiction of the Camp David accords.” He pointed out that under the Camp David agreements, the agreements to be reached with Egypt, and hopefully, Jordan, on the autonomy program would constitute its legal source, not the Israeli military government. Similarly, he noted, Camp David provided for a “strong local police force” which hardly jibed with the blueprint.

Labor MK Yossi Sarid introduced on urgent motion in the Knesset attacking the blueprint. He contended that it made it appear that Israel’s signature on the Camp David accords was a subterfuge intended not to give the Palestinians self-rule but to perpetuate Israeli military rule. Moshe Shahal, chairman of the Labor Party’s Knesset faction, called the blueprint “a mixture of elements of Beginite ideology and of Dayan’s military pragmatism.” It is certainly not a genuine effort to solve the Palestinian problem, he said.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE BLUEPRINT

The leaked portions of the blueprint recommended that the army pull back to specified areas as called for in the Camp David framework but that training exercises would be continued in all parts of the West Bank in accordance with the army’s needs. The military government’s offices would be withdrawn from its present locations in accordance with Camp David but the military government would continue its overall presence and would function as before in all areas outside of the autonomous localities.

The plan also recommended that the autonomous body should comprised about 10 departments. Its interior affairs department, for example, would be responsible for population registry, in coordination with Israel’s Ministry of Interior. The trade department would supervise trade and could levy taxes but not customs duties. West Bank and Gaza Strip residents would be given the choice to hold either Israeli or Jordanian passports but the autonomous authority would be forbidden to issue its own passports because of the implication of national sovereignty.