Israeli Minister of Justice Shmuel Tamir said today that it is “premature” to talk about American pressure on Israel to speed up the negotiating process for autonomy on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Tamir, who is a member of Israel’s ministerial negotiating team on autonomy, arrived in the U.S. on a visit four days ago and has had meetings in Washington with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and other top Administration officials.
Addressing a meeting here of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Tamir said that Vance had assured him that the Administration does not intend to pressure Israel and that the U.S. needs “a strong Israel” now.
“There is no doubt in my mind that new winds are blowing in this country,” Tamir said. He referred to the new situation created by the Iranian and Afghanistan crises and the new realization in Washington that a strong Israel is in America’s national interest. He said that since the autonomy talks began last spring, the U.S. has not brought any pressure to bear on Israel “to agree to things it (Israel) did not agree to in the Comp David accords.” But Tamir acknowledged that there are differences between Israel and the U.S. and that the U.S. does not always see eye-to-eye with Israel.
He expressed hope that the autonomy talks between Israel and Egypt will be concluded by their target date next May. The Israeli minister also said that the new situation in the Middle East has strengthened Israel in its opposition to the creation of a third state between itself and Jordan.
CONFIDENT OF CONTINUED U.S. SUPPORT
“I feel it is easier now to express our position here, “he said. He said he was confident that the U.S. will continue to support Israel because the Jewish State is the one “reliable friend” it has in the Middle East. Nevertheless, he called an American Jews to be on the watch. “We live in a cruel world,” he said and observed that Israelis have no illusions and are aware that America has needs and interests in the Middle East that do not always coincide with those of Israel.
Speaking to reporters in Washington yesterday, Tamir reiterated his view that the U.S. was taking a risk in supplying Egypt with large amounts of military aid because the future course of events in that country is unpredictable.
He suggested that Egypt might turn against the West if it was threatened with a takeover by radicals or an Islamic revolution in the manner of Iran’s. Egypt is “a relatively benevolent autocratic regime but not a democracy,” he said.
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