Word: habib
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...this atmosphere of mutual suspicion, Israeli policy about Lebanon was two-pronged. First, Jerusalem would cooperate, to a degree, with the Habib negotiations, especially since the Reagan Administration was so committed to the talks. Second, Prime Minister Begin's government would periodically apply heavy military pressure on P.L.O. positions in West Beirut in order to remind the Palestinian leaders that their only choice was to leave Lebanon. Israeli officials declared that these "salami-style" maneuvers of slicing away at the Palestinian redoubt in West Beirut would be conducted only in response to P.L.O. ceasefire violations. But there were bound...
Joining the effort to down-play the assault on West Beirut, Defense Minisrter Ariel Sharon, architect of the Lebanese invasion, complained to the U.S. Government about Habib's reports to Washington that Israel was firing 1,000 shells into West Beirut for every shell fired by the Palestinians. Sharon denounced such accounts as "mendacious" and said that they were based on observations from afar...
Ironically, the attacks on West Beirut came just as Habib thought that his peacemaking mission was on the brink of success. Early last week a Habib aide placed what State Department officials termed a "euphoric" call to Washington. Habib, who had been repeatedly in touch with the P.L.O. through his Lebanese intermediaries, sent home a cable that was a bit more cautious, indicating considerable optimism but noting that there were still t's to be crossed and i's to be dotted." Even so, declared one top State Department official, "we had 95% and only needed a couple...
...Israelis belittled Habib's overtures. To members of Begin's Cabinet, the envoy's letter was couched in precisely the same vague diplomatese that has come to infuriate the Israelis in their dealings with the American. Habib's letter was peppered with such phrases as "I have reason to believe" and "We can assume," according to an Israeli official familiar with its contents. Begin even quoted some of the phrases in his letter to President Reagan to show his skepticism about the Habib mission. With all its hedges, Habib's proposal seemingly reinforced the growing...
...Thursday, the P.L.O. forwarded a new set of proposals, including a timetable for leaving Beirut, to Lebanese Prime Minister Chafik Wazzan. Despite the effects of the Israeli bombardment, Wazzan managed to deliver the proposals to Habib, who in turn passed them on to Jerusalem. The working plan reportedly involved a 14-day period for the withdrawal. On the first day, the 6,000 guerrillas in West Beirut would pull back to refugee camps and be replaced by an international peace-keeping force, including troops from the U.S. and other countries. In the next three days, Palestinians bound for Jordan...