Peres Dealt Setback by Cabinet Vote : Permission for Weizman’s Trip to Egypt Denied

In what is believed to be an unprecedented action with sobering implications for the Mideast peace process, the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday narrowly withheld its approval for an important political ally of Prime Minister Shimon Peres to visit Egypt this week.

The trip by Ezer Weizman, a Cabinet minister without portfolio, may still proceed, pending today’s important “inner Cabinet” debate and follow-up telephone poll of the full Cabinet. But Sunday’s surprise vote against immediate approval for the trip was, at the very least, a major political embarrassment to Peres, and it could lead to the breakup of the national unity government.

Coming on the eve of the anticipated arrival in Israel of President Reagan’s special Mideast envoy, Richard W. Murphy, the vote also underlined the political constraints militating against any significant Israeli concession that might contribute to a breakthrough in long-stalled regional peace talks.

Engineered by Likud

The vote against Peres was engineered by the rightist Likud bloc, which joined the prime minister’s Labor alignment in a national unity coalition last September.

A source close to the prime minister quoted him as telling the Cabinet members Sunday that the vote against him was a “very grave” matter. Another official described Peres as “furious.”

Weizman refused to make any immediate comment. But a source close to the former air force hero and one-time Israeli defense minister would not rule out the possibility of Weizman’s resigning from the government--a step that could precipitate a full-fledged Cabinet crisis.

Israel television Sunday night quoted Peres as having told the Cabinet that “if Ezer doesn’t go (to Egypt), there is no government.”

Weizman was scheduled to leave for Cairo tonight at the invitation of Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal Hassan Ali.

Camp David Figure

A key figure in the Camp David negotiations that led to the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, Weizman is considered by the Egyptians to be the Israeli official most committed to improving relations between the two nations and to building on that relationship in search of a broader Mideast peace.

Weizman was expected to meet with President Hosni Mubarak and other top Egyptian officials during his trip.

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Al Hamishmar published Sunday, Mubarak adviser Osama Baz said the Weizman visit could pave the way for a Mubarak-Peres summit meeting. He also made clear that Egyptian officials want to discuss Mubarak’s recent peace initiative calling for multi-stage talks leading to direct negotiations between Israel and a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation.

It is customary in Israel for any proposed trip abroad by a Cabinet minister to be brought before the Cabinet for what is usually pro forma approval.

However, Weizman’s visit is particularly controversial because of deep differences between members of Peres’ Labor alignment and their Likud bloc coalition partners, headed by Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, over relations with Egypt and the broader peace process. Also, Weizman has said publicly that he would like to be foreign minister in a narrow, Labor-led government.

Cairo Informed of Visit

Nonetheless, it was earlier thought that behind-the-scenes assurances from Peres and a meeting last week between Weizman and Shamir had cleared the way for the trip, and the prime minister informed Cairo that Weizman would be coming.

However, when Peres proposed at Sunday’s Cabinet meeting that the necessary approval be given, Shamir objected. He said he had agreed to a private visit by Weizman with “courtesy calls” on Egyptian leaders. It was now clear, he said, that this was to be a “business visit.”

Shamir “thinks foreign policy should be handled by the Foreign Ministry,” an aide explained.

An angry Peres argued repeatedly that no Israeli government had ever refused permission for a Cabinet minister to travel abroad, and he called for a favorable vote.

Shamir insisted that no approval be given until after a 10-man “inner Cabinet,” divided equally between Labor and Likud ministers, discusses ground rules for Weizman’s trip.

The Cabinet backed Shamir in an 11-10 vote. Voting against Peres and his Labor colleagues were the 10 Likud ministers and one minister from the right-wing Morasha (Heritage) Party. Two other ministers were absent, and two abstained.

The “inner Cabinet” will meet on the issue this morning, and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Beilin said Sunday that its members are likely to approve Weizman’s visit after severely curtailing his authority to speak for the government.

However, Uzi Baraam, secretary general of the Labor Party, main component of the Labor alignment, said Sunday’s vote “harms the peace process,” adding, “It is a spit in the face of the Egyptian president.”

Peres is to meet today with Assistant Secretary of State Murphy, who is in the region to assess prospects for movement in the peace process based on the Mubarak initiative. Murphy met Sunday in Amman with Jordan’s King Hussein.

Hussein has proposed creation of a Palestinian state on the occupied West Bank, confederated with Jordan, in return for recognition of Israel.

The focus of Murphy’s visit is believed to be the makeup of a possible Jordanian-Palestinian joint delegation for future talks. Israel insists that it will not negotiate with members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which it officially considers a terrorist group.

However, Arab states including Jordan and Egypt have recognized the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative” of the Palestinian people.