U.S. Assures Israel Big Four Guarantee of Borders No Substitute for Peace Accord

The United States government has reportedly assured Israel that it does not regard a possible Four-Power guarantee of future borders between Israel and its neighbors as a substitute for a firm peace agreement that will establish secure borders. The latest American note sought to allay Israeli fears arising from Washington’s apparent readiness to discuss the subject of Mideast guarantees with the other major powers–the Soviet Union, Britain and France. The U.S. reportedly stated that there was no change in its policy in this regard, informed sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today. According to these sources, Premier Golda Meir is expected to reiterate Israel’s opposition to Four Power involvement in border questions at this time when she delivers her political report to the Knesset tomorrow. Mrs. Meir is also expected to indicate in her speech to Parliament that her government does not reject Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s offer of last Thursday to reopen the Suez Canal if Israeli forces are withdrawn part way from its east bank. The Premier will make no Israeli commitment to such a plan but will seek clarification of what Egypt has in mind. Mrs. Meir is expected to say that Israel will not withdraw from the waterway without a peace treaty but she may not rule out partial withdrawal to an extent that would give Israel continued military control over the Canal while allowing the Egyptians to clear it for navigation.

In this respect, Israel is anxious to place on record the fact that it has over the past three years offered to permit the reopening of the Canal even without a prior peace treaty, on condition that Israeli shipping is given the same rights of navigation as the shipping of other nations. Israeli officials fear that Israel’s willingness in this regard may have been forgotten and that Sadat will get credit for taking the initiative to reopen the Canal, closed since the June, 1967 war. In an interview taped in Jerusalem on Friday for NBC television, Mrs. Meir stressed that Israel has been advocating reopening the Canal since 1967 and hence there was nothing new in Sadat’s proposal. Certain news sources in Israel interpreted Mrs. Meir’s remarks as a dismissal of the Sadat offer but government sources made it clear late that such was not the Premier’s intention. Several ministers reportedly criticized Mrs. Meir’s remarks to NBC at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting for being too vague and thus lending themselves to erroneous interpretation. Certain ministers reportedly expressed strong feelings that the best way to regain the political initiative from Egypt was not to dismiss the idea of reopening the Canal but to probe it further, possibly through the U.S. Some ministers suggested that an expression of non-committal interest on Israel’s part, coupled with a desire for more information, would put the onus on Sadat to provide further details, sources here said today.