Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, indicating that the West Bank-Gora autonomy talks may be resumed as early as next week, said today that advances in the “normalization” of Egypt’s relations with Israel would help influence the negotiation process.
“If there would be real normalization, ” Shamir told a press conference, “it could create a better atmosphere and this could influence the negotiations.” He noted that President Anwar Sodat of Egypt told him that he “sees no obstacles to full normalization in all fields — trade, joint ventures, agricultural cooperation, cultural cooperation, tourism.” Asked when normalization would happen, Shamir replied, “I’m not sure when if will take place but this is the first time we got such clear declarations.
NORMALIZATION IS REAL EXPRESSION OF PEACE
Pointing out that Egypt, Israel and the U.S. would be resigning talks in the next weeks,” Shamir said “Then we can see the progress of normalization. Normalization is the real expression of peace between Egypt and Israel. Steps in the next few weeks can implement normalization.”
Shamir, who met Secretory of State Edmund Muskie yesterday and will meet with Defense Secretory Harold Brown later today, returns to New York tomorrow where he is expected to remain for the rest of the month to attend the UN General Assembly. Asked if he would meet with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko at the UN, as has been rumored, Shamir said, “If there will be that possibility, I will not exclude it.”
Neither the site nor the date for the next autonomy meetings have been set, Shamir said. He said-Israel preferred to meet in Israel or in Egypt while suggestions have been mode that Washington be the site.
“We won’t discuss now the problem of Jerusalem, he said, responding to a question about a report in the semi-official Cairo newspaper Al Ahram that Egypt has suggested in own plan for the security of Israel and the Jerusalem issue. “When Egypt proposes its agenda for the negotiations, we’ll express our views,” Shamir said.
Regarding the possibility of a separate arrangement for the Gaza Strip, he said “all possibilities” would be discussed when the negotiations resume. Asked if movement is “not happening in Gaza now,” he replied, “not yet.”
STUDYING U.S. PROPOSALS ON AUTONOMY
Shamir said U.S. proposals on the autonomy discussions are “under study.” Asked if “anything objectionable” is contained in the proposals, he replied, “I would not say so.” The Israeli Foreign Minister was asked about President Carter’s policy toward Israel. “I will not say anything in general but on specific questions we got positive answers, ” he said.
Pressed to elucidate on “positive answers,” Shamir said: “It would be very difficult to specify. There are many problems and aspects between Israel and the U.S. I can only say that generally we got positive answers for aid and so on.”
Asked about “coordination” between the U.S. and Israel, Shamir said the dialogue takes place “all the time” between the two governments. “Sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree. It is quite normal.”
Speaking of “too many enemies of the peace process in the Middle East” and “too many obstacles, ” Shamir said, “therefore, the help of the U.S. is necessary to overcome all those obstacles. The Egyptians need it as we need it.”
ISSUE OF EAST JERUSALEM
After Shamir said that an agreement has been reached on 80 percent of the powers to be vested in the autonomous authority, he was asked by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the Stats Department’s view that the Arab’s inhabitants of East Jerusalem could vote in the West Bank elections but that would not determine the ultimate status of Jerusalem, although the Carter Administration says Jerusalem is undivided. The reporter also asked how can Jerusalem be undivided and yet East Jerusalem be considered part of the West Bank ? “This is exactly our position,” Shamir said, agreeing with the reporter. He observed that “the inhabitants of Jerusalem are part of the problem of Jerusalem” and “not part of the autonomy talks.”
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.
