Premier Yitzhak Rabin said today that Israel was prepared to offer substantial territorial concessions to the Arab states in the interests of a peace settlement but emphasized that under no circumstances would Israel return to its pre-June 1967 borders, the line of territorial concessions lies somewhere between the present lines and the 1967 lines and in that space there is ample room for maneuver, Rabin told 3000 Tel Aviv high school seniors. He said the time for drawing maps would come when the Arabs decide to start peace talks.
The Premier also said that Syria has agreed, without conditions, to a six-month extension of the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observers Force (UNDOF). He ruled out a further disengagement stage with Syria, but stated that Israel is ready for peace with Syria but not for any other arrangement.
Defense Minister Shimon Peres, addressing infantry officers school graduates at a military base today, also outlined Israel’s position on peace with its neighbors. “We want peace with Lebanon, but not with the terrorists who live on the outskirts of Beirut,” he said. “We are ready to talk with the Syrians, but they cannot dictate the terms. We are striving for an understanding with Jordan but not under pressure from hostile Arab states that are hostile to Jordan as well. And we are ready for negotiations with Egypt, but on the basis of progress on the road to a peace settlement.”
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