Sharon: Israelis Are Neither Mercenaries nor Beggars nor Anybody’s ‘strategic Asset’

Defense Minister Ariel Sharon said Israelis are neither mercenaries nor beggars, could look out for themselves and should not strive to be regarded as anybody’s “strategic asset.” Addressing graduation ceremonies at the Israel National Staff and Defense College last Thursday, Sharon said:

“We are not mercenaries. For us it is a matter of life or death. For almost 25 years we have stood alone in this part of the world against Soviet expansion … we should not tell ourselves or anybody else that we are a ‘strategic asset’. We don’t belong to anybody else, and we should not try to persuade anybody else we are such … We are capable of doing a lot, and there is sufficient proof of that. We are not beggars standing at anybody’s gate … but there is a price for our assistance.”

Sharon said that in any talks and negotiations with any other country, Israel should make it clear that it would not stand for any breach of any agreement. “Even if the breach is only a logistics one, we might be faced with the question of having to go to war. We must therefore make it completely clear that no breaches of any agreement will be allowed,” Sharon said.

He did not refer to any specific incidents or cases. Israeli government officials had termed the Reagan Administration’s embargo on the F-16 and F-15 warplanes a breach of contract because Israel had contracted for them with signed agreements.

APPEALS FOR UNITY

Sharon decried splits and quarrels among Israelis in all political parties, and appealed for unity in the face of external dangers. “We are faced with a clear and defined Soviet strategy, of long-range, which sought to achieve its aims either by direct intervention, as in Afghanistan, or by infiltration,” Sharon said. The Soviet Union today is behind almost every case of unrest in the world, he noted.

“We today face great masses of Soviet arms in what the Western world calls the ‘moderate Arabs’ in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ethiopia or South Yemen,” Sharon declared.” American policy is still being worked out, without any clear answer at present. We hope there will be an answer, but at the moment there is none. We are not America’s mercenaries or policeman. We should be pleased in the change in American policy which has finally come about. They finally have the philosophy that they bear world responsibilities and are their own policemen and must take the necessary measures.”

Referring to this week’s autonomy negotiations in Egypt, Sharon said he thought agreement could be reached on West Bank autonomy “but only strictly according to the Camp David agreements.” Sharon said he thought agreement could be reached with the “Arabs of the land of Israel (the Palestinians) by talking to them. The government policy is clear — to wipe out the terrorists and terrorist activity and their leaders in the occupied territories and to achieve cooperation with the West Bank population in general.”

He said that in his talks to army officers on the West Bank he had stressed the need to differentiate between the terrorists and their supporters, and the population in general.