U.S. Terms Movement of Jewish Settlers Back to Hebron a Step Backward in the Peace Process

The U.S. declared today that “the movement of Israeli settlers into the city of Hebron itself would be a step backward in the peace process” but explicitly ruled out “punitive” action against Israel. ( See related story from Jerusalem, P.3.)

In a statement read to reporters, State Department chief spokesman Hodding Carter said “the implications” of the Israel Cabinet’s decision to allow Israelis to move into houses in Hebron, whose original Jewish owners were massacred or forced to flee in 1929, “are serious and far reaching and the U.S. government is seriously concerned about them.”

Carter said that the move “could have serious consequences for the autonomy negotiations.” He added: “It would damage the confidence of the parties, particularly the Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, because it raises the basic question of Israel’s commitment to full autonomy.”

Asked what “clarification” the State Department has received from the Israel government, Carter replied, The Israelis say they can proceed with the process of putting settlers in. ” When a reporter suggested that the movement did not constitute a “settlement.” Carter modified his statement to speak of Israel’s “positioning of people” in Hebron.

When another reporter asked what measures the U.S. would take as a consequence if Israel “persisted” in settling occupied Arab lands, the State Department spokesman said he was “not going into that.” Later, when asked specifically about that point, he said the U.S. would not take “positive” measures.

Asked what U.S. policy would be should Arab citizens of Israel, not Jewish citizens, move into Hebron, Carter said he would reply to that later However, he said, the U.S. policy of apposition to Jewish settlements in the occupied territories has been “stated a million times.”

ISSUE OF FULL AUTONOMY

Carter was asked, “Whose vision of full autonomy is being violated” inasmuch as a basic point of full autonomy appears to be that people would be free to settle in the territories. He replied that “the pre-establishment of positions” has yet to be negotiated and “steps which pre-judge or prejudice the outcome are prejudicial to the negotiations.”

The U.S., Carter said, opposed “unilateral steps to charge the character” of the area. He said the U.S. “is not asking anyone to go beyond the framework (of the Camp David accords) or make judgements contrary to their national interests. “But a comprehensive settlement is the best guarantee for the safety of Israel, ” Carter said.

He noted that President Carter’s special Ambassador to the Middle East, Sol Linowitz’s latest meeting with Egyptian and Israeli negotiation had produced the first practical steps” for an autonomy agreement and that the three parties have reached a “tentative understanding to be discussed by then later this month. The central point is that “all three” are seeking to resolve the Palestinian issue and are not going beyond the Camp David framework.

Carter said he would comment later on a report that the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon has received 60 medium tanks and other armored equipment from the Soviet Union. Sources in Israel reported that the equipment is being kept in the Sidon area of Lebanon and would give the PLO additional fire power to use against the Christian militia in south Lebanon. Questioned about the renewed fighting in that region, Carter said he had “independent information” that “heavy exchanges of tire “have taken place in the last two days. He said the U.S. is urging all parties to “exercise restraint.”

Asked about a reported remark by the son of Ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini in Teheran yesterday, in the presence of PLO chief Yasir Arafat, that Israel must be destroyed, Carter said: ” Obviously, we oppose such a policy.”