Premier Yitzhak Shamir warned today that abrogation of the May 17, 1983 Israel-Lebanon agreement by President Amin Gemayel would mark the end of Lebanon as an independent nation.
Such action, under Syrian pressure, would harm Lebanon more than it would hurt Israel, Shamir told reporters during a visit to the Israel Electric Corp. coal-fired power station at Hedera.
He conceded, however, that “it is not a positive development for Israel.” Gemayel, who is in Damascus conferring with President Hafez Assad of Syria, is expected to abandon the May 17 accord, the price Syria demands for cooperation with his government.
ISRAEL WILL ARRANGE OWN SECURITY NEEDS
Shamir stressed that whatever happens, Israel will look after its security needs. “If this agreement is abrogated under Syrian pressure, under the terrible pressure of Syria, we would regret it and arrange our security needs as we undertand them and as the situation obliges us to do,” he said.
He said redeployment of the Israel Defense Force in south Lebanon was a “technical matter which will be discussed by our security men and the government.” He added that IDF General Headquarters will soon start working out plans for future security in Lebanon.
Shamir said Israel is “interested in having friendly ties and friendly relations with all our neighbors, including Lebanon. But in this case it doesn’t depend on us.” He said any discussions would be held with Lebanon, not Syria and if the May 17 agreement is cancelled, Israel would be released from all of its commitments under that agreement.
Meanwhile, according to the Voice of Israel reporter in Cairo, former Egyptian Premier Mustapha Khalil said today that the cancellation of the accord would have no negative influence on the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He told the reporter that the treaty has been ratified and that the Egyptians have never sought to abandon it. Khalil said Israel could not force the Lebanese to ratify an agreement while it was under occupation. The May 17 accord was signed but never ratified by the Lebanese Parliament.
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