Thousands of Israelis Hail Shamir as He Heads for U.S.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis crowded into Tel Aviv’s main square Sunday in support of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s rejection of a U.S. peace initiative as he departed for official talks in Washington.

Organizers representing all of the nation’s rightist and religious parties estimated the crowd at 250,000 people, more than double the number that had gathered in the same place to urge Shamir to accept the peace plan a day earlier.

Facing banners that read “Stop Surrender Talks” and “Israel Wants Peace, Arabs Want Piece After Piece After Piece,” Housing Minister David Levy told the crowd:

“We say to the prime minister of Israel from this place: You leave today on a fateful trip. You must explain to the people and the Administration of the United States we don’t want to commit suicide.”

The U.S. plan calls for talks on Palestinian self-rule in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip by April and negotiations on a final settlement by the end of the year.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz presented the plan during a 10-day Middle East shuttle this month as a Palestinian uprising in the occupied areas entered its fourth month.

The Israeli right wing objects to withdrawing from any of the remaining territories captured during the 1967 Middle East War, contending that the resulting borders would be indefensible.

Trade Minister Ariel Sharon, architect of Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, said Israel cannot negotiate with the Arabs under the pressure of firebombs.

To cheers of “Arik! Arik!” Sharon said: “The United States is a friend of Israel. (But) we must make clear to the United States we will not be pressured into giving up our vital security interests.”

In the Sunday Cabinet session before his departure, Shamir again blocked a Cabinet vote on the U.S. initiative, saying the government will take up the proposal only after he returns from the United States.

At the closed-door weekly meeting, each minister was permitted 10 minutes to express his views on Shamir’s mission and the Shultz initiative.

Shamir, leader of the right-wing Likud Bloc, held a stopwatch to make sure none of the 23 ministers exceeded their allotted time during the meeting, which was described by participants as cordial.

Only Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, head of the centrist Labor Alignment and a supporter of the Shultz plan, did not speak.

After the closed meeting, Labor ministers sent a letter to Shamir protesting the lack of a vote on the Shultz plan.

Shamir has expressed his opposition to the plan and has said he hopes to persuade the United States to change many of its provisions.

Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers shot and wounded at least one Palestinian during isolated protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Also, Ibrahim abu Awad Youssef, 23, who was wounded Wednesday by army gunfire, died Sunday.

The army announced that a soldier, who was not identified, has been charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Gaza resident who cursed him when he confronted a group of rock-throwing protesters. The legal action marks the first prosecution of a soldier for killing a Palestinian protester since the unrest began Dec. 9.

Fuel Deliveries Banned

In the continuing unrest, Israel choked off gasoline supplies to the occupied West Bank on Sunday after Palestinian protesters torched two fuel trucks and pelted others with stones.

After the fuel trucks were set ablaze, Maj. Gen. Amram Mitzna, military commander of the West Bank, barred fuel trucks from entering the territory, the daily Maariv newspaper said.

A senior official in the West Bank military government confirmed the report but stressed that fuel will be delivered to stations that service hospital ambulances and service vehicles.

“We will arrange for fuel deliveries only to places where it is vital for public services,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said last month that Israel might have to resort to economic restrictions against the 1.4 million Arabs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip if strikes and violence persist.

Demonstrators scuffled at a Middle East peace rally in Beverly Hills. Part II, Page 1.