Rabin; Israel Prepared to Give Up ‘most of Sinai’ in Return for Formal Peace Treaty with Egypt

Israeli Premier. Yitzhak Rabin says the extent of his country’s territorial concessions to Egypt will be in direct proportion to what Egypt is prepared to offer in the political sphere. Israel would be prepared to give up “most of the Sinai” in exchange for a formal peace treaty with Egypt, Rabin declared in an interview published today in Le Figaro. But “in the case of a simple non-aggression agreement, the Egyptians will receive much less than what they would obtain in the framework of a peace treaty,” Rabin said.

The Premier spelled out the scope of Israel’s offer. In the event of a genuine peace treaty, he said, Israel, “without the slightest difficulty” would relinquish the Abu Rodeis oil fields and the strategic Mitla and Gidi passes.

Replying to recent suggestions that Israel might recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization if the PLO reciprocated with recognition of Israel, Rabin said it was not possible to deal with an organization that considers Israel no more than a religious minority. “In any case I do not think that the issue of the Middle East crisis depends on the Palestinians. It depends on the Arab states. Only when they (the Arab states) decide to adjust themselves to the existence of a Jewish state in the area will we be able to find a solution to the Palestinian problem,” Rabin said.

DISMANTLING WESTERN ECONOMY

The Israeli Premier accused the Arab countries of “economic blackmail” against the West through their oil policies and charged that the Soviet Union was behind it. “Let us face the facts… Their (the Arab states) population is not more than 25 million people but they decide the futures of 300 million people, simply stated, by the way in which they allow their black gold to flow. But who can guarantee the world that this blackmail will not continue above and beyond Israel?” he asked.

According to Rabin, “The Soviets are presently putting pressure on the sheikhs and emirates, the Arab kings, to strangle Europe and destroy its social and economic structure.” He said the slow dismantling of the Western economy was much more efficient than a direct attack and warned the West to take pause and reflect on the consequences of the present situation.

Rabin was critical of France’s policy in the Middle East, Commenting on the recent visit to Israel of French Foreign Minister Jean Sauvagnargues, Rabin suggested that the French approach to the Middle East was out of proportion to France’s importance on the world scene. “I am not an expert on French foreign policy, but it seems to me that France wants to realize much more than she can… The idea that France can conduct a superpower policy in the Middle East seems utopic to me,” he said. He added that it was not possible for France or for any other European country to play a mediator’s role in the Middle East after having taken a clear position in favor of the Arabs.