Reagan Invites Israeli, Egyptian Ministers to Meet
President Reagan has invited Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Egyptian Foreign Minister Esmat Abdel Meguid to meet him in Washington this month for Middle East peace talks, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said today.
The surprise joint invitation sparked controversy in Israel at the start of a campaign for a Nov. 1 general election, dominated by differences over the future of the riot-torn occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Peres’ political rival, played down the American move, telling Israel Radio: “I do not have all the details but you have to remember that we are on the eve of elections.”
The invitation appeared to be a major boost to Peres’ Labor Party, which backs U.S. proposals for an international peace conference to launch Arab-Israeli talks on a peace settlement for the occupied territories.
Shamir’s right-wing Likud party is strongly opposed to an international conference and to returning any occupied Arab land.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
