The Reagan Administration welcomed the Israeli Cabinet decision to accept the evacuation plan worked out by U.S. special envoy Philip Habib. At the same time, the U.S. received Lebanon’s formal request for the participation of American forces to participate, along with French and Italian troops, in the international force to supervise the withdrawal of terrorists from Lebanon.
Regarding the Cabinet’s action, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said in a statement this morning: “We are of course extremely gratified by the Israeli Cabinet’s approval of the plan, which is a tribute to the remarkable diplomatic achievement of the President’s special emissary, Ambassador Philip Habib. It sets the stage for the implementation of the plan which we expect to start as early as this weekend.”
Speakes added: “We urge the parties to make every effort to clear up the remaining matters so that the implementation can go forward as soon as possible.” It was reported later from Jerusalem that the remaining matters had been cleared up. (See story, P. I.)
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