Premier Says There is No Room for Argument on Territories’ Policy

Premier Golda Melr declared today, In an apparent response to Defense Minister Moshe Dayan’s complaint that Israeli activity in the administered areas has been inadequate, that “everyone in the Labor Party agrees that more should be done” and that there were no differences of opinion on the issue in her party.

She made the statement in an interview broad cast on the army broadcasting station. The statement also was published in morning newspapers. Dayan had threatened, in a speech last Tuesday, that he might leave the Labor Party in the October elections if a clear program for action in the territories was not adopted for the coming four years.

Asserting that the government had already done “a great deal” in the territories, Mrs. Meir said she saw “no room for an argument over policy in the territories since we really do not have two sides to this debate entrenched behind barricades” She added that “nobody suggests there could be a revolution overnight on this issue.”

PRAISES U.S. VETO IN SECURITY COUNCIL

Mrs. Meir described the position of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat as weakening, and asserted that if Sadat thought he could benefit from a “military adventure,” he would have attacked Israel some time ago. She said Sadat did not fear a United States veto in the United Nations Security Council but he realized that if Egypt started hostilities, it would suffer a major defeat.

She praised the U.S. for having been “consistent” in its policy in casting one of its rare vetoes last Thursday against a resolution offered at the end of a special debate in the Council on the Middle East which criticized Israel for its continued occupation of the Arab territories. She said those countries which voted for the resolution had shown their “isolation from common sense.”

Referring to the recent incident involving a clash between Georgian Jews and Ashdod port officials, Mrs. Meir said the incident was resolved when an amicable settlement was reached. Some 40 Georgian Jews hired, according to port officials, on a temporary basis, were discharged, leading to a physical clash between Georgian Jews and police The government finally agreed to find other jobs for the unemployed Georgian Jews.

Mrs. Meir warned that the Ashdod situation should not be considered as proof that anyone staging such an incident will win. She said the Ashdod settlement was arranged “on the merit of the situation of that day.”