Israel’s terms for canal re-opening

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32587, 22 April 1971, Page 13

Israel’s terms for canal re-opening

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) WASHINGTON, April 21. The Israeli Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Yigal Allon) has listed three main conditions for Israeli acceptance of the reopening of the Suez Canal. They are:

The termination of belligerency must be one of the preconditions of any interim arrangement. The eastern bank of the canal cannot be occupied by Egyptian, Russian or federated troops (meaning the troops of the new federation of Egypt, Syria and Libya). The option for peace negotiations must be kept open (meaning that Israel will not agree to considering withdrawal from. the canal as the first phase of total withdrawal from the territories it occupied in 1967). Mr Allon talked to reporters after a 2| hour meeting and luncheon with the Secretary of State (Mr William Rogers) and Mr Joseph Sisco, the Assistant Secretary in charge of Middle East affairs. “Peace is badly needed by all Middle East countries, not only by Israel but by the Arabs,” Mr Allon said. "Any other war would bring us' back to the situation in i which we are today, so why i have another war?” Besieged by reporters and , in front of television cameras,. Mr Allon firmly denied that j he had asked for American , guarantees to contain Egyp- . tian forces if and when. Israeli troops withdrew from ■ the canal. | *T did not come to ask for , any assurances,” he said “My < principal aim was to get ac-' quainted personally with Mr . Rogers. There were questions on which Mr Rogers and I agreed, but there were some others on which we disagreed.” Most of these questions, he acknowledged, were in connection with the proposals to ’ re-open the Suez Canal that ‘ the Israeli Prime Minister ' (Mrs Meir) handed to Mr Walworth Barbour, the United ; States Ambassador to Israel, : in Jerusalem yesterday. Though Mr Allon said that ! he could not quote from the j official document, he agreed to list its three main points. “An interim agreement on ‘ the Suez Canal may create 1 new conditions and facilitate ' a peace settlement,” he said. ' “If I were an Egyptian, I * would accept the Israeli ‘ plan.” Jarring’s role {

Mr Allon said he felt that Dr Gunnar Jarring, the United Nations’ peace mediator, should not become involved in negotiating the proposed canal arrangement, but should stick to his original mandate, of seeking an over-all settlement. “An international force, to be wedged between the canal and the withdrawing Israeli forces, could be one of the solutions, but there are others,” Mr Allon said in response to a question. "We must be sure that any change of the status quo will not be used against Israel militarily," Mr Allon evaded questions as to whether Mr Rogers would visit the Middle East after his meetings in London and Ankara next week. “He is always welcome,” he said. U.S. reaction Although the State Department has been restrained in its comment on the new Israeli proposals, and gave no details, political observers in Washington say that a new chapter in the search for a Middle East settlement may have begun. The State Department spokesman (Mr Robert McCloskey) said today: “We and the Israelis are continuing discussions on the broadest possible range of issues in the Middle East, and, specifically, on the idea of reopening the Suez Canal.”

Of the views put forward by Israel, Mr McCloskey said: “We believe that they offer a basis for negotiations on an interim arrangement for reopening the canal.” Washington Officials assume that the United States will

I communicate the Israeli proposals to the Egyptian Government and to ambassadors of the four Great Powers' at the United Nations. Cairo meeting A.A.P.-Reuter reports from Cairo that the Egyptian Cabinet met today, shortly before the Foreign Minister (Mr Mahmoud Riad) returned from Moscow with fresh Soviet Union promises of armed support for Egypt. Mr Riad told reporters that during his six-day visit to Moscow he had received full backing for Cairo’s demands for a complete Israeli withdrawal.