A secret meeting took place late last night at Premier Menachem Begin’s residence here between the Premier, senior government officials and an unidentified non-Israeli. It is believed the meeting centered on the political and security developments in Lebanon.
Unconfirmed reports said that the person meeting with the Israeli officials was Camille Chamoun, former President of Lebanon, who now heads the Lebanese Front, a coalition of Christian parties. No source would confirm the guest was Chamoun or any other Lebanese Christian. Senior sources report that Syria has been using the cease-fire in force in Beirut since Aug. 12 between its troops and the Lebanese Christians in order to prepare a large-scale attack against the Christians aimed at destroying their military capability.
Participants at the three-hour meeting, which included Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, Defense Minister Ezer Weizman, and Chief of Staff Gen. Raphael Eitan, refused to divulge details. However, reportedly, a car with the non-Israeli left by a side entrance of the Premier’s residence following the meeting, in an attempt to escape photographers. A guard at the residence said he was told the guest was Brian Unquhart, the UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, but a UN spokesman said “that was very improbable.”
The entrenchment of Syrian forces at different points in Beirut and the stream of forces to the area have intensified speculation of a Syrian attack to break the Christian forces in Lebanon. This was apparently the subject of the session in Jerusalem, and on this basis, observers feel that the mysterious guest was a person in close contact with developments in the region. A meeting with such a first-hand source would allow Israel to decide upon decisive action in the event of a Syrian attack on the Christian forces in south Lebanon.
However, Israel’s position is delicate in that any intervention on her part in Lebanon could affect negatively the upcoming Camp David talks. It can, however, be assumed that Israel is conducting discussions with the United States on developments in Lebanon, since the United States requested Israel not to take any action in the area “which would surprise us, too.”
ISRAEL WARNS SYRIA
Meanwhile, there were reports from Beirut that Israeli planes flew above the Christian port north of the city and over southern Lebanon yesterday. This was construed as Israel’s warning to Syria to watch its step.
Weizman told a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday that the Syrian army in Lebanon is capable of eliminating the Christian forces within 48 hours. The Syrians have centralized considerable military forces around Beirut, including two army brigades, one armored brigade, and great quantities of artillery and mortar. Consequently, Weizman noted, Israel must adopt a firm approach toward the Syrians.
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.
