The Israeli View

In his new apartment overlooking the Wailing Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel's Deputy Premier Yigal Allon explained to TIME Correspondent Marlin Levin last week why his government reacted so strongly to U.S. peace proposals. Excerpts from his remarks:

Peace Talks. Israel is determined to do everything in its power to reach a permanent arrangement with its neighbors which will make any future war unlikely. We believe this can only be achieved through a combination of a full-fledged peace treaty and an effective mutual security agreement. By effective security arrangements we mean not only recognized boundaries but secure ones--namely, boundaries that are defendable with natural barriers. This becomes more critical as time passes, owing to the tremendous extension of Arab air and ground forces. To go back to the old demarcation lines of 1949, as the American plan envisages, leads Israel into a potential strategic trap. It is an invitation for another war, because it will create new illusions among the Arabs of prospects of victory. We need borders that will give us the possibility of real self-defense.

Occupied Territories. Whenever the Arabs go to war, they know that someone is going to come to their rescue and they will recover their lost territories. They are becoming the spoiled nations of the world. They can permit themselves to do anything they want, thanks to oil interests and big-power politics. Suppose we Israelis demanded unconditional surrender or said we would not return an inch of soil. We would be accused of lack of realism.

Jerusalem. Do I have to remind you that East Jerusalem as well as substantial parts of the West Bank were never part and parcel of Transjordan or the Kingdom of Jordan? They were conquered by the invading Jordan army in 1948, contrary to the United Nations partition resolution of 1947, which established an independent Arab and Jewish state (and set up Jerusalem as an international city). The Jordanians annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and then refused us access to our holy sites. Now all of a sudden, after they decided to attack in Jerusalem again in 1967, their so-called historical rights of 19 years are being honored, as if this kingdom of Jordan were a nation that had lived here for two millenniums.

Refugees. To take back hundreds of thousands of refugees means to invite a civil war in Israel itself, because they would be a fifth column. Even if you gave the refugees the freedom to choose between repatriation and compensation, they would not be free to accept compensation. I am sure the Fatah would see to it that each refugee--even if he did not want to return--would be forced to say that he did want to come back. All of a sudden Israel would be forced into a situation where its internal security would be threatened.

The U.S. Plan. I have always had hopes that the Arab governments would be more realistic one day and meet us for a reasonable, sound compromise. But now, with the American proposals, any such hope has disappeared. How could any Arab leader accept a plan which is less than that offered by the American Administration? Even if such an Arab leader wanted to, he could not afford to buck the opposition at home. And no government of Israel would be able to carry out such a plan, simply because no one in Israel is ready to commit suicide by fighting a war under conditions imposed by the American plan. So, the American initiative put an end to any hope of compromise in the foreseeable future. This is a great tragedy.

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