Tense Prelude

Linowitz fails to budge Begin

"You guys certainly aren't making it easy for us. What are you going to do next time, fire off rockets?" So remarked U.S. Middle East Envoy Sol Linowitz when he met last week with Interior Minister Yosef Burg, Israel's chief representative in the negotiations on Palestinian autonomy. Linowitz was understandably exasperated over what seemed an almost deliberate show of Israeli intransigence: a Cabinet decision to establish two schools in the old Jewish quarter of Hebron, an Arab town of 50,000 in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It was an unfortunate prelude, to say the least, to the crucial summit talks President Carter is to hold successively with both Israeli Premier Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat later this month. Linowitz feared Israel's action would further frustrate the already stalemated negotiations between Egypt and Israel on the question of autonomy for the 1.2 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.

To help set the stage for the Washington discussions, Linowitz requested that Israel freeze settlement activity until May 26, the target date for conclusion of the autonomy negotiations. Begin bluntly rejected the request. The Premier also put off a proposal to establish a special negotiations committee for security matters. Afterward, an aide to the envoy described him as "depressed" over Begin's unwillingness to budge from his position on key issues.

It was Begin, in fact, who had personally pushed for the Cabinet decision on Hebron, overriding the reluctance of most members to act in a manner they knew was certain to anger not only the Palestinians but the Egyptians and Americans. Indeed, Begin's move seemed like a calculated slap at Carter: the Cabinet acted just hours before Linowitz arrived in Israel. The 8-to-6 vote, with three Cabinet abstentions, clearly reflected the uneasiness of the ministers themselves on the issue. Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin, who opposed the settlement plan, invoked his right to appeal the decision to the Knesset committee on defense and foreign affairs, which could conceivably reverse it some time in the future. Nonetheless, the decision had immediate repercussions in the volatile West Bank. Hebron Mayor Fahd Qawasmi called for a campaign of civil disobedience. Virtually the entire population of the West Bank and East Jerusalem heeded appeals for a one-day general strike. All schools and shops closed, and buses even stopped running.

The negotiations on Palestinian autonomy have made some progress, notably on how to conduct an election for a so-called autonomous council, and what administrative jurisdiction the council should exercise. But Egypt and Israel are still in fundamental disagreement on several critical issues. 1) The powers of the autonomous council: Egypt wants the council invested with legislative as well as administrative authority. Israel opposes legislative powers in the belief that they would inevitably lead to a Palestinian state. 2) Security in the West Bank and Gaza: Egypt wants security issues resolved by all the signatories to the Camp David accords, plus Jordan and the Palestinians themselves, if they can be enticed to participate. Israel insists on retaining responsibility for security in all areas its soldiers have occupied since the 1967 war. 3) The role of East Jerusalem Arabs: Egypt advocates their participation in the autonomy scheme. Israel, which annexed the eastern sector of the city after the 1967 war, adamantly opposes inclusion of the Jerusalem issue in the negotiations.

With no hopes of nudging Begin toward a more conciliatory posture, Linowitz flew to Cairo to meet with Sadat, and after a first cordial chat, said enthusiastically: "He is a great man." Said Sadat to the frustrated envoy: "We can do it, Sol." Linowitz then went on to Alexandria for the tenth ministerial meeting on autonomy. Held a day after the first anniversary of the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the meeting was almost entirely symbolic. The negotiators met formally around the bargaining table for only a few minutes and made speeches honoring the occasion. Then they agreed to an intensified schedule following the coming talks in Washington. But as Linowitz pointed out, achieving agreement by the May 26 target date was going to be a "formidable task."

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