Acres for Sale?

Should Israelis be allowed to buy land in the Arab territories that have been occupied since 1967? That question, deriving from the broader problem of what to do about the occupied territories, will be a major issue in the forthcoming election campaign, and Is rael's dominant Labor Party is sharply divided.

Defense Minister Moshe Dayan has asked Prime Minister Golda Meir to agree to such purchases, but so far there has been no decision. According to a Dayan aide, there are tens of thousands of acres of land in the occupied areas that could be bought from Arab landowners who are willing to sell; purchases have been held up for lack of a govern ment policy.

Leading doves in the Cabinet, such as Finance and Commerce Minister Pinhas Sapir and Foreign Affairs Minister Abba Eban, are opposed to land purchases on the ground that they would make a peace agreement that much harder to obtain. Dayan maintains that "facts must be created in the territories," since the Arab states show no inclination to come to terms. Other leaders are urging a compromise -- permitting land purchases, but only under army supervision.

Dayan, who runs ahead of all other politicians in the polls, has thrown down the gauntlet to party leaders on this and other issues in the past few weeks. He has warned that he will not join a new government after the fall elections if it is run by a dove on a dovish platform.

The alternative could be for Dayan to join forces with religious and right-wing elements; Dayan believes that he can take enough votes away from Labor to frighten the party leaders into giving him his way.

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