Pinhas Sapir, chairman of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives, said here today that he personally was in favor of a major trade-off of occupied territory by Israel for a genuine, lasting peace settlement.
Speaking to a gathering of Labor MPs. Sapir who was formerly Israel’s Finance Minister and was regarded as the “strong man” of the Israel Labor Party, said that in exchange for a formal peace settlement with its neighbors, Israel should vacate the Sinai and the West Bank, with the exception of East Jerusalem, and also the Golan Heights, retaining there only certain strategic positions necessary to protect the settlements in Galilee.
Sapir stressed that he was offering his personal views and said he was aware that some people in Israel “consider me to be a dove of doves.” But, he added, “I believe the majority of Israelis would accept my position if it was put to them in a referendum or some other way.”
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