Envoy tries to keep lid on peace

Press, 14 May 1981, Page 6

Envoy tries to keep lid on peace

NZPA-Reuter Jerusalem Tension between Israel and Syria has mounted after ■ Syria fired missiles at Israeli planes over Lebanon, and the American special envoy, Philip Habib, has extended his stay in Israel to try to avert open conflict. Officials said Mr Habib was expected to go to Damascus and possibly Beirut early today for more talks on the crisis involving the stationing of Syrian sur-face-to-air missiles in Lebanon. Ye’sterday Israel said several missiles were fired from Syrian territory at Israeli jets over Lebanon, but they missed. The Israelis denied a Syrian claim to have shot down an Israeli plane over Lebanon. The Israeli statement was released as the Prime Minister (Mr Menachem Begin) made a second appeal in two days to the Syrian President (Mr Hafez Assad) to order the missiles’ withdrawal. Mr Begin and other Israeli leaders have made it clear Israel wjli attack .the mis-j siles if tlje American .peace ■ mission fails, but foreign di-1 yplomats said he was unlikely I to act while Mr Habib was in I the area. ’■ i Observers said, the longer! Mr Habib remained in the! country the better the! chances of defusing the ten-1 sion, which has brought the! two countries close to open I hostilities. Mr Begin earlier told the visiting Dutch Foreign Minister (Mr Christoph van der Klaauw) that Europe had no right to dictate to Israel its security needs and how to achieve them. Mr van der Klaauw, chair- j man of the European | Economic Community Coun- ] cil, is in Israel as part of a Middle East tour to see how the E.E.C. could participate and contribute to peace in the Middle East. Mr Begin said a declaration after last year’s E.E.C. summit meeting in Venice had called for “the terrorist Palestinian Liberation Organisation to be included in Middle East peace talks, and so we cannot speak on the basis of that statement.”