Israel Rejects U.S. Call to Cut West Bank Tension

Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens on Monday brushed aside the Bush Administration’s call for “reinforcing and reciprocal” steps by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization to defuse the tension in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Standing next to Secretary of State James A. Baker III after a 90-minute meeting at the State Department, Arens said that his government cannot ease the conditions of its occupation as long as the 15-month-old Palestinian intifada, or uprising, continues.

“We certainly want to reduce tensions,” Arens said. “That is an interest we have quite apart from the U.S. government interest in that subject. . . . (But) it’s not easy to do, considering the level of violence in the territories at the present time.”

A Call for Reciprocity

In his comments to reporters, Baker called for “various reinforcing and reciprocal steps (by Israel and the PLO) which might be taken to defuse the tension there.”

According to an Administration official, the U.S. government wants Israel to reduce the use of group punishments such as curfews and the destruction of houses of families of Palestinian demonstrators, to restrict the use of detention without trial, to release many of those now detained and to reopen schools in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The official said that the United States wants the PLO to use its influence to lower the level of violence perpetrated by Palestinians.

The official said Washington believes that such gestures would help to relax the passions of the uprising and create an atmosphere in which peace talks would have a chance. He said it is clear that the United States wants Israel to act without waiting for the violence to end.

Administration officials, in comments to reporters, have been more specific about U.S. objectives than either President Bush or Baker were in their private meetings with Arens.

Speaking to Israeli reporters after his talks at the White House and the State Department, Arens said that neither the President nor the secretary of state gave him a list of proposed confidence-building measures.

‘We Spoke Generally’

“There were no examples,” he said. “We spoke generally about it.”

A U.S. official confirmed later that specific measures were not discussed.

“We want the Israelis to think about what they can do, to take a common-sense look at the situation and determine what they can do to improve the atmosphere,” the official said.

In a written statement, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said Bush told Arens that “the United States wants progress (and) new ideas.” He added that Baker “looks forward to the visit by Prime Minister (Yitzhak) Shamir,” a clear indication that the U.S. side hopes the Israelis will come up with something new next month, when Shamir is scheduled to be in Washington.

It was Arens’ first visit to Washington since he was named foreign minister in the new Israeli government. But he is no stranger to the city or the United States, where he served as Israeli ambassador in 1982 and 1983. Arens was born in Lithuania but was once a naturalized American citizen who served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He did not give up his American citizenship until he was chosen for the ambassadorial post.

Cordial and Productive

Despite their failure to reach any sort of agreement on measures to defuse West Bank and Gaza violence, participants on both sides described the meetings as cordial and productive. Both Bush and Baker emphasized the continuing U.S. support for Israel’s security.

“I reaffirmed that President Bush and I are fully committed to continuing the historic United States-Israel partnership,” Baker said. “Israel is a friend and not only a friend but an ally.”

Arens said later that he was very pleased with Baker’s reference to Israel as an ally. In the past, Israeli officials have sometimes expressed concern that Washington’s commitment to their security is less than its commitment to the security of members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other nations with which the United States has an official alliance.

He said that the two nations agreed to coordinate their approach to the Middle East peace process, starting with a renewed effort to bring Jordan’s King Hussein to the negotiating table.

“We agreed that Hussein is a key,” Arens said. “We need Hussein to advance the peace process. We also need Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza.”

King No Longer Involved

For years, the United States and Israel have sought to negotiate with a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation headed by the king. However, Hussein announced last year that he no longer would try to represent the interests of Palestinians, suggesting that the United States and Israel should talk to the PLO.

Israel steadfastly refuses to deal with the PLO, citing the acts of terrorism for which the organization has been responsible. It does not accept Chairman Yasser Arafat’s renunciation of terrorism and cites a recent series of thwarted infiltration attempts by armed Arabs across Israel’s border with Lebanon.

The United States began its own dialogue with the PLO last year after Arafat acknowledged Israel’s right to exist and renounced the use of terrorism.