Israel feels isolated

Press, 17 December 1988, Page 10

Israel feels isolated

NZPA-Reuter Jerusalem Officials said Israel was feeling isolated now that its best friend, the United States, had agreed to talk to its worst foe, the P.L.O. “We are more or less in solitude,” said Yossi Ahimeir, director of the Prime Minister’s office. “Our main ally, our greatest friends, took this hasty step without even considering giving it a few days, a few months, to test Mr Arafat’s intentions, give him time to prove himself,” Mr Ahimeir told Reuters. “Our next step is to see what is going on in Tunis, to continue our efforts in order to convince the Americans not to go further than their grave first step,” Mr Ahimeir said. The surprise United States announcement was another diplomatic blow to Israel, already denounced internationally for its handling of a yearold Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories it captured from Jordan and Egypt in the 1967 Middle East war. It came at a time of political disarray in Israel. Six weeks after inconclusive Israeli elections, Mr Shamir’s rightist Likud Party and the Labour Party of the Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, have yet to agree on terms for another unity Government. Even after a late-night meeting on Thursday, the two men were still at odds over Cabinet Ministries and whether to push for more Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. Some 70,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and Gaza. Despite their differences over how best to achieve Middle-East peace, Mr Peres joined in voicing sorrow at the United States change of heart.