SHARP RESPONSE PLANNED BY U.S. ON SETTLEMENTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100150024-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 29, 2012
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: November 17, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/29: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100150024-2
1,7.1' I CT,?
THE WASHINGTON POST
17 November 1982
Sharp Response
Planned by U.S.
On Settlements
The Reagan administration's
sharp criticism of Israel's decision to
build still more Jewish settlements
in the occupied West Bank reflects
longstanding White House dissatis-
faction with Prime Minister
Menachem Begin's intransigence on
the issue.
In fact, the administration has
been weighing a response that would
be far more drastic than official
comments of "most unwelcome" and
"not helpful." Specifically, the pres-
ident's advisers are considering put-
ting restrictions on the use of U.S.
economic aid to Israel.
One idea would be to deduct the
cost of the settlements, estimated at
$200 million to $400 million a year,
from the $785 million in U.S. non-
military aid to Israel, or at least put-
ting the money in escrow until Begin
or a successor agrees to sit down for
discussions on West Bank autonomy.
This won't happen tomorrow or
next week, but it may well come
eventually if Begin persists in his
stubborn rejection of President Rea-
gan's Mideast peace plan, which is
based on a Palestinian confederation
with Jordan, not Israel.
How realistic is it to expect Begin
to cave in to an attack on his pock-
etbook? The National ` Security
Council is pondering reports from
the CIA and other intelligence-gath-
ering agencies to determine the an-
swer to that question.
A secret State Department assess-
ment, for example, states that Israeli
leaders are "without illusions" as to
Israel's considerable dependence on
the American taxpayers' continued
generosity. While Begin and others
repeatedly emphasize that their de-
cisions are based on Israel's national
interests, they remain "deeply aware
of the constraints on its political op-
tions" arising from this dependence.
According to a secret CIA docu-
ment reviewed by my associate Dale
Van Atta, "Israel is dependent upon
the good will of the U.S. for the fi-
nancial resources that support Is-
rael's economy and, at least indirect-
ly, the establishment of the settle-
ments, both through the tax-free
contributions of American Jewry and
? the official assistance the U.S. pro-
vides."
Even if American funds are not
used directly for the West Bank_set-
dements, "these funds enable Israel
to divert its own resources to settle-
ment projects," the CIA points out
Within Israel, not everyone buys
the government's argument that the
West Bank settlements .are vital to
the nation's defense. In fact, some
prominent Israelis, including former
chief of staff Lt. Gen. Haim Bar-
Lev, warn that the settlements
would actually be a drag on Israel's
security.
If war comes, they argue, the ,
army would have to devote consid- I
erable manpower to protection or
evacuation of Israelis from their iso-
lated settlements, instead of attend-
ing to its primary mission of defend-
ing Israel proper.
Many Israelis also realize that the
undeniable repression by the occu-
pation forces on the West Bank has
given Israel a bad image in the
world, and tends to foster hard-line
Palestinian leaders. In this view, the
West Bank is thus a political obsta-
cle to the general peace that is Is- '
rael's ultimate hope for survival.
There is no firm consensus within
Israel on the Palestinian question.
As the CIA notes, "Israeli views on
Palestinianism range from denial of
the existence of Palestinian nation-
alism to arguments that Israel must
seek accommodation with the Pal-
estinian Arabs."
Those who deny Palestinian na-
tionality have a certain logical prag-
matism on their side. As the CIA
explains: "To acknowledge a Pales-
tinian nationality with its own aspi-
rations could ultimately call into
question the extent of the Jews' own
right to the 'Land of Israel.' "
There is, the CIA adds, "a very
small minority [that looks] upon the
Palestinian Arabs as a potential
bridge of understanding between
l',rael and the Arab world."
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/29: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100150024-2