Mrs. Mair: Israel’s Withdrawal Policy Flexible; Palestinian Entity Under Discussion

Premier Golda Meir said Friday that she did not accept the arguments of certain hard-liners who insist that “not a squire inch” of the occupied Arab territories should be given up by Israel. But she made it clear that Israel has no intention of voluntarily giving up very much of the territories it seized in the June. 1967 Six-Day War. Mrs. Meir’s views on Israel’s future boundaries emerged during a New Year television interview. “We want withdrawal to places that seem safe to us,” she said. She added that the overwhelming majority of Israelis would not leave the Golan Heights or Sharm el Sheikh and certainly not East Jerusalem even it were proposed to make it an international enclave. She said Israel would never return to the pre-June 1967 borders with Jordan. The Jordan River cannot be left free to be crossed and re-crossed by armies, she said. Mrs. Meir hinted however that some areas of the West Bank might be restored to Jordan or converted into a “Palestinian entity.” She indicated that talks have been going on with West Bank Arabs since 1967 on the possibility of establishing a “Palestinian entity.” Such talks. Mrs. Meir noted, might be more relevant now in light of recent events but there were many problems, not the least being what authority the West Bankers taking part in them would have and what their position would be in case of peace talks with Jordan. The Prime Minister denied allegations that Israel was ignoring the existence of Palestinian identity. “We reject only one thing, that Israel should be turned into their Palestine.” she said. Mrs. Meir disclosed that Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, had once again sought her permission to meet with a person “well known in the Arab world” and that she told him once again that approval had to be sought from the Cabinet as a whole. Asked if the “well known” person was the late President Nasser, Mrs. Meir said it was someone “much worse” than Nasser.