Premier Yitzhak Shamir told the Cabinet yesterday that Israel is still opposed to the U.S. sale of advanced weapons to Arab confrontation states, particularly the reported plans by the Reagan Administration to provide Saudi Arabia with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. (See separate story from Washington.)
According to Shamir, the shoulder-fired weapon could easily fall into terrorist hands. He was quoted in some foreign newspapers yesterday as saying that Israel would also oppose any U.S. move to supply Saudi Arabia with airborne tankers to help it protect Persian Gulf shipping. Shamir reportedly asserted that the Saudis have been accumulating weapons for a long time and that the only time they were used was when they were transferred to Arab armies fighting Israel.
ISRAEL’S PRESENT DILEMMA
Former Defense Minister Ariel Sharon took issue with Shamir at the weekly Cabinet meeting for not taking an even tougher stand against U.S. weapons sales to the Saudis. The debate reflected Israel’s present dilemma. On one hand, it is difficult to counter the American argument that the Saudis need the Stinger missiles to protect Western oil supplies in the Persian Gulf. On the other hand, the Israelis genuinely fear that weapons in the hands of the Saudis could be used in the future against Israel.
But there is serious concern here that if Israel even goes through the motions of opposing the sale, it could trigger a hostile reaction in the U.S. Israeli policymakers believe they are being told by Washington that this time American and Western interests outweigh Israel’s interests on this issue.
‘ISRAELI INTEREST OFFICE’ IN COLOMBO
Meanwhile, Shamir disclosed that Sri Lanka has agreed to an “Israeli interest office” to be set up at the American Embassy in Colombo. Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) suspended diplomatic relations with Israel 14 years ago.
Shamir informed the Cabinet that he had a message from President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt pledging to continue political dialogue with Israel and stressing their two countries’ mutual commitment to the peace process. He said he would send a reply to Cairo shortly.
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.
