Peres; Israel Prepared to Produce 50% of Its Weapons if U.S. Military Aid is Reduced

Defense Minister Shimon Peres said yesterday that Israel was prepared to produce 50 percent of its weapons needs in the event that American military aid was out back. He also said that Israel was totally justified in rejecting pressures to accept Egyptian demands in the recent bilateral talks conducted by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger because guarantees are proving worthless as evidenced by the present situation in Indo-China.

Peres made those remarks in an interview broadcast by the Armed Forces Radio and published in the Army weekly, “Bamachaneh.” He said, however, that he found it very hard to imagine that the United States would retreat into isolationism because the vacuum would be filled by the Soviet Union. He acknowledged that U.S. Israeli relations were passing through a crisis period since the failure of Kissinger’s latest Mideast mission but expressed confidence that the crisis was a temporary one.

“Should there be a drought in our (military) purchasing relations (with the U.S.), this would oblige us to step up production at home, to work harder, to save every piece of equipment in our possession and keep our ammunition boxes filled,” the Defense Minister declared. But he added, “I’d find it very hard to imagine that America has given a divorce to the whole world, to concentrate only on her own affairs and on her own coasts and to live a life of isolation. I do not believe that. Should America decide to turn its back on the whole world, then the world will change because every place vacated by the Americans will not remain empty. Russia will fill the gap,” Peres said.

ISRAEL RIGHT IN TAKING FIRM POSITION

He said he was convinced that Israel was right in taking a firm position in the recent Kissinger negotiations. “In a world going up in flames, with guarantees toppling like so many houses of cards and war breaking out in unexpected quarters, where small peoples are being exposed to immense pressures, I feel proud that Israel emerged from this test with her spirit unbroken, her independence and freedom preserved,” Peres said.

The validity of agreements made by the Big Powers are limited, he said, noting that the Vietcong have violated an agreement signed with the U.S. less than two years ago. He said that if Israel had given in to Egyptian demands, Egypt would have pressed for further withdrawals and “we would have found ourselves in a headlong gallop.”

Peres said that President Anwar Sadat of Egypt was displaying only verbal moderation in his recent public statements. Egypt’s basic political strategy is to create a wedge between the U.S. and Israel, he claimed. As to Israel’s preparedness, the Defense Minister stated, “the past year has been most important as far as military build-up and progress are concerned. Should the Arabs attempt to repeat the Yom Kippur at tack of 1973, they would find a surprise waiting for them.”