Premier Yitzhak Rabin said today that Israel would probably have to bring a map to Geneva along with its suggested principles for peace, but rejected demands being made inside and outside of Israel for an elaborate Israeli peace initiative outside the framework of negotiations with the Arabs. Such an initiative would create a sharp internal debate but would not advance peace in the area, as past experience has shown, Rabin told a gathering of top level officials and members of his government.
He was responding to mounting pressure here and abroad that Israel utilize the present hiatus in negotiations to come up with a detailed peace plan representing the ultimate goals of its policies. Only yesterday, former Foreign Minister Abba Eban, addressing American Jewish leaders in New York, urged Israel to present new ideas and a specific policy if only to head off a solution imposed by the Big Powers.
Rabin noted that “For years, the Israel government has submitted through diplomatic channels far-reaching territorial ideas to the Arabs, indicating its willingness to make concessions. However, the response always was that these ideas were non-starters.” He cited as an example the so-called Allon plan for the West Bank, proposed after the 1967 Six-Day War by the then Deputy Premier and now Foreign Minister Yigal Allon which, Rabin said, failed to win the slightest favorable response from the Arab world.
ISRAEL WAS RIGHT TO STAND FAST
Referring to the recently strained relations between Israel and the United States, Rabin said “We have reached a situation in which there is more balance in these relations than there was during the first days after the (Israeli-Egyptian) talks (conducted by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger) broke down.” However, he added, there are no grounds to feel that the stage of disagreement between the two countries has passed. He said the basic difference with the U.S. was on the question “who was more right in its positions” during the bilateral talks.
Rabin said in his view Israel was entirely right to stick to its original position which offered Egypt several options for a partial settlement and which Egypt rejected with “blackmail.” “Sometimes a strong stand, sticking to farreaching proposals which may advance peace, have better prospects to bring peace than new initiatives which only raise the question of how seriously Israel took its previous suggestions,” Rabin said.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
