Saunders Says Election Won’t Affect Differences in Israel over Occupied Areas Policy

Harold Saunders, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Carter Administration, predicted today that no matter who wins the elections in Israel tomorrow it will not “produce an easy job” for American officials who want to “press forward” with the Middle East peace process.

Answering questions at a luncheon of the Women’s National Democratic Club, Saunders explained that Israel is not “united” over what to do about the West Bank and Gaza Strip and any solution will result in a “national trauma of some sort.”

He noted that the present government of Premier Menachem Begin may provide more difficulties in the “long run” than the opposition Labor Party because of its claims to sovereignty over the West Bank. But at the same time, a strong rightwing government might have a greater capacity to deliver concessions. “Five years ago no one would have predicted that Prime Minister Begin would have presided over the compromises and agreements that were achieved in 1978 and 1979,” he said.

Saunders, who was involved in the Camp David agreements and in all Egyptian-Israeli negotiations from the first interim agreements in 1974, said the Camp David accords “cannot be scrapped” although the U.S. may have to go beyond them to involve other parties, particularly the Palestinians.

He stressed that “neither a Palestinian settlement nor an Arab-Israeli peace will ensure stability in the Middle East.” But he said there could be no Middle East solution or permanent peace for Israel without solving the Palestinian problem.

Saunders, who is now a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said that whether a Palestinian solution requires direct involvement of the Palestine Liberation Organization is something the negotiators will have to determine among themselves. But, he observed, “There is no doubt in my mind … the PLO will play a role in this process.” He added, “If they are not at the table they will play a role behind the scenes” whether through the Egyptians, the Jordanians or the West Bank Palestinians who are negotiating.

Asked about the proposed sale of AWACS reconnaissance aircraft to Saudi Arabia, Saunders said he believes the U.S. should have a close relationship with Riyadh which means providing the Saudis with modern military equipment from time to time, while at the same time safeguarding the security of Israel.

In his prepared speech, Saunders called for a “national consensus” and a “bi-partisan” foreign policy to deal with the Middle East and the Persian Gulf area which, he said, in the 1980s will be the “primary avenue for shaping the global balance of power in the 1990s.” He warned however that unlike previous periods, the U.S. cannot deal with the various issues “piecemeal” but must move on all of them at the same time. In that connection, Saunders said that while the Reagan Administration seeks a “strategic consensus” in the Middle East to prevent Soviet incursions, it must at the same time work for peace throughout the area. He said that working for peace is as important for American power as building up its military strength.