The government has decided on terms for an interim arrangement with Egypt to reopen the Suez Canal. Premier Golda Meir has been empowered by her Cabinet to convey those terms to Washington, it was learned here today from reliable sources. The sources said that while no further discussion is required, Mrs. Meir is likely to call a Cabinet meeting later this week to get a final stamp of approval before sending her terms to President Nixon for transmission to Cairo. The U.S. is already acquainted with the principles of Israel’s decision through informal talks between Mrs. Meir and Ambassador Walworth Barbour in Tel Aviv last week. Washington is said to appreciate Israel’s concern with guarantees against Egyptian violations of any future agreement but there is no unanimity of views on what form the guarantees should take. Washington also understands that Israel reserves full freedom of action should Egypt violate any interim arrangement that might be reached.
One of the government’s basic principles was disclosed by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan on a television interview last night. He said Israel will not regard an interim arrangement as the first stage of its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula. Dayan said that he endorsed a partial arrangement to reopen the canal but not on terms offered by President Anwar Sadat of Egypt who sees the clearing of the waterway as first step to Egyptian re-occupation of Sinai and ultimate fulfillment of the aspirations of the Palestinians. “If Sadat had said he wanted a partial settlement along the canal let’s sit down and discuss it–then Israel would have agreed,” Dayan said. Asked what distance Israel was prepared to withdraw from the canal, Dayan replied, “The question is whether you refer to the new line as a defense line or as a permanent boundary. I am not among those who consider the Suez Canal a permanent border.” Dayan said Israel should not reject any solution because it is only a partial one. “The road to peace is very long.” he observed. Referring to reported American pressure on Israel to make concessions, Dayan said, “If one considers the expression of a different opinion as pressure than there is pressure, otherwise there has been none to date.”
Due to an inadvertent error, the Jewish Labor Committee was identified as the Jewish Labor Council in the JTA Daily News Bulletin of April 8. The error appeared in an analysis of radio station WEVD, New York.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
