Premier Yitzhak Rabin made it clear over the weekend that Israel will give up no more territory unless the Arabs reciprocate with concrete moves toward peace. Declaring in a television interview that he favored far-reaching compromises in return for a real peace settlement, Rabin said, “In any use, from now on there is no more room for talks of withdrawal per se but rather withdrawal as part of progress toward peace.”
He affirmed such progress could be in the form of a public declaration by an Arab state to its people and the world that it is in a state of non-belligerency with Israel, meaning that it foregoes the use of force as a means of achieving a political settlement. “If this finds practical expression politically, diplomatically and in other areas, then I believe we shall have taken a serious and practical step toward peace,” Rabin said.
The Premier emphasized, however, that ended no circumstances would Israel return to its pre-June 1967 lines. He said Israel would be willing to reach a settlement with its neighbors in stages–a piece of territory in return for moves closer to peace.
NO UNDERESTIMATION OF WAR THREATS
Rabin warned Israelis not to underestimate recent threats of another war. “As long as there is no political settlement we have to live in the shadow of a constant military threat. If we are not ready for the possibility of war, we shall never see peace.” he said. Rabin stated that while the Egyptians were honoring the disengagement agreements reached nine months ago and have already repopulated a third of the towns along the Suez Canal, the Syrians are not keeping their part of the bargain. So far, they have refused to restore the civilian population to Kuneitra, he said.
Rabin rejected the term “dependence” to describe Israel’s relationship with the United States. “Israel is not the only country in American history to enjoy the kind of assistance she is receiving,” the Premier said. “We are dealing with a nation that has a tradition of granting aid without demanding the right to dictate to the recipients,” he said.
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