Israel and the U.S. have agreed that the next goal in the step-by-step approach for peace in the Middle East should be of a political nature, Premier Yitzhak Rabin told the Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee here last Thursday night.
Rabin said that if Israel could not have total peace “at least we shall aim at a formal, legal and practical cessation of war,” The Premier warned, however, that once negotiations start, different positions might be taken by the U.S. and Israel.
The possibility of peace or end of war with Egypt was first raised through Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and his shuttle negotiations last March and August, but the answer Egypt gave was no. As the result of the interim agreement the unity between Arab countries was impaired, Rabin said. However, he said, it is still obvious that not even Egypt would alone sign any document guaranteeing peace. He pointed out that both the U.S. and Israel believe that Jordan could be the second partner to enter such a pact.
Asked about the growing cooperation between Jordan and Syria, Rabin said that nobody could profit from it in the Middle East, but “unions have been established between Arab countries before without lasting results.” Elmer L. Winter, president of the AJCommittee, in introducing Rabin, pledged, “our continued and unequivocal support.”
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