Shamir Names Peace Talks Team : Diplomacy: ‘Maybe something will come of this,’ he says. Israeli panel includes close aides, skeptical Likud members.

Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir on Friday named his team for the opening day of the Madrid peace conference.

The Israeli delegation consists mainly of close Shamir associates, a few skeptical politicians from his Likud Party on guard against surrender of land for peace and, in an apparent effort to soften its look of reluctance, one career diplomat who has been deeply involved in arranging Israel’s participation in the talks.

Shamir, who will lead the delegation, gave a grudging appraisal of the potential for Mideast peace. “Maybe something will come of this,” he said on television.

Chief among the 14-member delegation are Yosef Ben-Aharon, Shamir’s hawkish top aide, and Elyakim Rubinstein, a key associate who holds the title of Cabinet secretary. When the inaugural meeting of the Madrid conference breaks into one-on-one meetings between Israel and three Arab delegations next week, Ben-Aharon is expected to handle talks with Syria and Rubinstein with the Jordan-Palestinian delegation.

Government officials had predicted that hostage negotiator Uri Lubrani, a Defense Ministry official, would be in charge of talks with Lebanon, but his name was not on the list.

The roll included five Parliament members from Likud. A key choice was Zeev Binyamin Begin, who has spoken out strongly against any compromise that would deprive Israel of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Distrusting Shamir’s intentions, Begin recently declared himself a candidate to succeed Shamir as prime minister. His participation in the team appears directed at taming a critic. Begin is the son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who signed the 1979 Camp David peace treaty with Egypt. His presence on the Israeli team appears to be in keeping with efforts in both the Israeli and Palestinian camps to make peace among themselves before trying to make peace with each other.

Binyamin Netanyahu, deputy foreign minister and ubiquitous television spokesman for Likud’s policy of keeping the West Bank and Gaza, is going along apparently as the delegation public relations director. His participation represents yet another slap at Foreign Minister David Levy, who refused to attend the conference because Shamir deprived him of the opportunity of making the opening address.

Levy views Netanyahu as a Shamir infiltrator in his ministry; Netanyahu’s command of English made it easy for him to overshadow Levy with the global media.

The three other Likud members are Uzi Landau, who was named to reflect the views of the Gaza and West Bank settlement movement; Eliahu Ben-Elissar, Israel’s first ambassador to Egypt, and Sarah Doron, who according to news reports was named to place a woman on the team.

Two Defense Ministry representatives and a member of the Druze minority community were also designated. The Druze, who are Arabs, follow an offshoot sect of Islam.

From the Foreign Ministry come Eitan Ben-Tsur, head of the North America department, and Joseph Hadass, the recently named director general of the ministry. Early in Secretary of State James A. Baker III’s effort to broker peace talks, Ben-Tsur was instrumental in designing formulas to ease the way for Israel’s participation. His enthusiasm drew suspicion from the prime minister’s office, and a campaign was launched to keep him from taking the director general’s post when it opened up earlier this year.

Israel’s ambassadors to Washington and to Madrid round out the delegation.

Shamir tried to broaden the list’s domestic political appeal by inviting a member of the opposition Labor Party to join. However, party leaders put forward the name of a former administrator of the West Bank and Gaza who, Likud stalwarts felt, might oppose Shamir’s policy of keeping all the land under Israeli control. Shamir rejected the nominee.

Shamir himself is expected to counter demands for compromise on land with insistence that the Arabs show concrete goodwill and take steps to normalize relations with Israel. Some newspaper reports have suggested he decided to attend to ensure a quick decision on walking out in case the Palestinian delegation overtly indicates its allegiance to the Palestine Liberation Organization.

On television Friday, Shamir dismissed the notion that he is going to Madrid in an obstructionist role. “I am no saboteur, and I am not going to blow up anything. I am going to present Israel’s positions, its desires, its dreams.

“This is an international event that has incredible resonance in the world,” he continued. “The whole world will be looking at this stage and will hear the voices.”

For Shamir, Madrid will cap a reluctant, two-year journey to the negotiating table. The meeting may herald the climactic chapter of his seven-year reign in his country’s top job. It is unlikely that any important decision can be taken without Israel going to elections, scheduled for no later than November, 1992. Shamir is 76 years old.

The West Bank and Gaza delegation arrived Friday in Jordan on its way to Spain and was quickly enmeshed in controversy. The group counts 14 members on a negotiating team and at least six advisers who are said to form a link with the PLO. One of the negotiating team members has identified himself as representing the PLO, the kind of taunt that is anathema for Israel, and Israeli officials were demanding his exclusion. No steps were immediately taken to remove the candid delegate.

Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi told reporters in Amman, Jordan, that she expects the Arab uprising back home to intensify as talks get under way. A right-wing member of Shamir’s government demanded that Ashrawi be arrested and tried for “incitement.”

(Southland Edition) Representing Israel in the Talks

Israel named what was descibed as a hard-line team to the Middle East peace talks. They are:

Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who pushed aside more-dovish Foreign Minister David Levy to head the delegation.

Yossi Ben-Aharon, director general of Shamir’s office.

Retired Gen. Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, a Labor Party member.

Elaykim Rubinstein, Cabinet secretary.

Eliahu Ben-Elissar, head of the Parliament’s defense and foreign affairs committee.

Yosef Hadas and Eytan Bentsur, Foreign Ministry.

Deputy Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Sarah Doron and Uzi Landau, Likud Party members.

Zalman Shoval, ambassador to the U.S.

Shlomo Ben-Ami, ambassador to Spain.

Sallai Meridor, political adviser to Defense Minister Moshe Arens.

Brig. Gen. Ekutiel Mor, army intelligence.

Assad Assad, Shamir’s adviser on Druze affairs.