Bubbling, But Not Yet Boiling

The Middle East cauldron was still bubbling last week, but to the relief of practically everybody, it failed for the time being to come to a boil.

In Lebanon, Premier-designate Rashid Karami had been thwarted for more than a week in his efforts to put together a new government in the wake of the Israeli commando attack on Beirut's airport. Stymied in his attempts to satisfy all of Lebanon's myriad religious-political factions, Karami finally was forced to resort to a ploy: he simply named a 16-man Cabinet and presented it to President Charles Helou without bothering to seek the approval of balky opposition leaders. Though two of the incoming ministers at first refused to accept their posts, the other 14 began work immediately. There was at least a possibility that the gambit might produce results.

Too Much to Bear. While the outcome of Beirut's government crisis remained uncertain, France moved to expand its interests in the Middle East. President Charles de Gaulle, who last week stirred outpourings of gratitude from Arab states by embargoing the sale of French arms to Israel, assigned an emissary in Beirut to tell the Lebanese: "France would not be indifferent in case of a threat of Lebanon's integrity and sovereignty." The statement served to spotlight De Gaulle's efforts to restore France's influence in the troubled area.

The Israelis found De Gaulle's maneuvers too much to bear. Students staged mass demonstrations before the French embassy in Tel Aviv. One poster showed a De Gaulle-nosed poodle sniffing a mongrel sporting an Arab headdress. The caption: HE SMELLS OIL. In the Knesset, Premier Levi Eshkol condemned France's expressed reasons for the embargo (Israeli "aggression") as a "mendacious libel."

In France, De Gaulle came under stinging attack for his anti-Israel policies from the once subservient French press. In an unprecedented demonstration of unanimous scorn, French newspaper reporters boycotted the information ministry's regular Wednesday briefing in what amounted to a direct snub of the general himself.

Arab Reservations. Soviet proposals for a Middle East settlement seem to have bogged down. These envision a four-power agreement among the U.S., Britain, France and the U.S.S.R., mediated by the United Nations. France proposed a similar Big Four conference, but the antagonists seemed as reluctant to accept such an initiative from Paris as from Moscow. The Israelis are on record as being opposed to any agreement imposed by outside powers, and the State Department reserved judgment.

In the Arab world, the Soviet proposal met with mixed reactions. Syria and Iraq oppose the plan, as do the El Fatah commandos. Other Arabs, however, seem considerably more interested. Lebanon and Jordan indicated at least tacit approval of the Soviet initiative and Egypt hinted that it might go along as well.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.