The administration received Israel’s official reply to the American peace initiative when Israel’s Ambassador Yitzhak Rabin met today for a half hour with Joseph J. Sisco, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. In a separate development, an administration source said that “hopefully” a cease-fire in the Middle East would begin “within a week.” Pressed for details, the source said “nothing has been laid out.” The 90-day cease-fire, proposed by Secretary of State William P. Rogers, has been accepted by Israel, Egypt and Jordan. It is an element in Mr. Rogers plan to start Middle East settlement talks under the aegis of United Nations envoy Gunnar V. Jarring, based on the Security Council’s Nov. 22, 1967 resolution. Asked if secure borders would be established between Israel and its neighbors prior to Israeli withdrawal from Arab territories occupied in the June, 1967 war, the source said that would be negotiated. He described as “an interesting Idea” a proposal by the Washington Post today that the United States and Soviet Russia both send peace-keeping forces to the Middle East. The source said there has been no U.S. contact yet with Palestinian guerrillas. The Rogers plan is opposed by most of the guerrilla groups.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
