Word: strausses
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Things did not go well during Strauss's two-hour meeting on Friday with Israeli Premier Menachem Begin. On the matter of most concern to the U.S., how to draw the Palestinians into the current talks on autonomy for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Begin reiterated his country's position that there must be neither change nor dilution of the Camp David accords...
...Security Council Resolution 242, which implicitly affirms Israel's right to exist as a state. Strauss basically concurred, but added that the U.S. favors "a reaffirming and a building on" of 242 with a new draft that could cite 242 and include the Camp David language recognizing the "legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." He told the Premier that the U.S. "might go forward with a resolution of its own in the U.N." along these lines...
When he asked for Begin's approval of this, Strauss said that he "met with negative results." In fact, the Israelis hinted darkly that rather than be pressured by the U.S. to back such a motion they would withdraw from the autonomy talks. From the five sessions held so far, it has become evident that the West Bank and Gaza leaders will not join the process without the approval of the P.L.O. But Begin's threat to withdraw from the talks was almost completely unexpected...
From Jerusalem Strauss flew to Egypt, where President Anwar Sadat stressed that any new U.N. resolution should not interfere with the autonomy talks. As Strauss was returning to Israel on Sunday, Begin's cabinet declared that it "rejects unequivocally" the U.S. resolution on 242. Such an initiative, said a cabinet spokesman, "contradicts the commitments of the U.S. to Israel." With an impasse thus threatening, there was speculation in Israel that yet another Begin-Carter-Sadat summit might be needed to revive the peace process...
Looming over the Strauss Middle East trip was the debate that it is scheduled to begin this week in the Security Council. Expected to be placed on the agenda is a motion that could modify 242 to recognize the Palestinians' right to their own state. While the U.S. is prepared to honor its promise to Israel and veto such a motion, Washington wants the kind of compromise resolution that Strauss outlined to Begin. In theory this might prompt P.L.O. acceptance of 242 and remove the main obstacle to open U.S.-P.L.O. contacts, thus leading to Palestinian participation...