Word: shamir
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...absolutely essential to any progress in the Middle East conflict. But the Israeli leadership is bitterly divided over the issue. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who is head of the Labor Party, is amenable to the principle. But Peres' partner in Israel's national unity government, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, is opposed to any territorial concessions. Said Shamir of the land-for-peace idea: "You can't conduct negotiations and ((can)) certainly not achieve peace by announcing every day that you're ready to accept everything...
...increasingly bitter sniping between the two top Cabinet officials led some Shamir aides to hint that the Prime Minister was considering sacking Peres. But such a move would probably force the next election, now scheduled for November, to be held much earlier. Shamir is reluctant to take such a drastic step. Yet the national unity government now exists in name only, largely because of frictions over the peace issue...
...Arab countries in an effort to lay the groundwork for broader negotiations. Jordan's King Hussein has not overtly opposed the new U.S. effort but insists that any solution to the Palestinian issue must receive some kind of international guarantee -- a condition that is acceptable to Washington but not Shamir. For his part, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak feels strongly that any solution must go beyond the deliberately vague Palestinian "autonomy" called for in the 1978 Camp David accords and determine the final status of the occupied lands...
...resumed, Washington has spent years largely on the sidelines and will be playing catch-up ball for a time. As Shultz last week set out for Moscow, where he was to meet with Soviet officials before moving on to the Middle East, the Secretary professed to be unperturbed by Shamir's lack of enthusiasm or any other unfavorable Middle East portent. Said Shultz: "The thing is to get going...
That view is shared by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who two weeks ago responded coolly to a U.S. proposal for indirect talks with the Palestinians leading to local elections and then negotiations on the permanent status of the occupied territories. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said he had "no substantive reservations" about the U.S. plan. Last week, after refusing to meet U.S. Special Envoy Richard Murphy jointly with Peres, Shamir said he might back limited "interim" autonomy for the Palestinians and asked Washington for "clarifications." But he widened his rift with Peres by accusing him of leaking details of their talks...