Gen. (Res.) Ariel Sharon, leader of the Shlomzion movement in Israel, warned here last night against what he said is the Israeli government’s intention to enter into negotiations with the neighboring Arab states on new interim agreements. “I am entirely against interim agreements,” he said at a press conference.
The previous interim agreements that Israel signed, Sharon claimed, did not bring peace any closer. “An overall settlement is the only solution” for solving the Mideast conflict, he said. He stated that Israel should talk to all Arabs, including the Palestine Liberation Organization even without a declaration from the PLO that it recognizes the existence of the Jewish State.
“As a Jew and Israeli I do not need the recognition of anybody of my existence. I know that I exist,” Sharon said, adding that his agreement to talk with the Palestinians does not mean that he advocates a “softer” attitude on the part of Israel. “The problem is not with whom you talk, but what you talk about,” he said. He stressed, however, that when Israel starts negotiating, the talks must be conducted with a unified Arab delegation representing a consensus of all Arab elements involved in the conflict.
Sharon, who is here for a two-week visit, said that he came to introduce his Shlomzion movement to the American public, especially American Jews. Asked about the prospects of his movement in the May 17 general election, Sharon said he hoped to get “many votes” but he declined to predict how many Knesset seats his movement will get.
He said that he would be willing to join a Likud coalition government after the election but added that he would do so only if Likud agreed to his demand to change the electoral system in Israel. He also expressed the wish that the Gush Emunim movement, advocating the retention of the West Bank, would support Shlomzion. Sharon is scheduled to meet tomorrow in Washington with Sens. Richard Stone (D.Fla.) and Henry Jackson (D.Wash.). He said he did not ask to meet with President Carter whom he met before the Presidential election.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
