JERUSALEM--The Israeli Cabinet yesterday gave Prime Minister Menachem Begin a strong show of support for the agreements he brought back from Camp David, voting overwhelmingly to evacuate Jewish settlements on the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for a peace treaty with Egypt.
Sources close to the Cabinet said Begin argued "forcefully" in favor of the frame-work agreements, helping to swing 11 ministers behind the accords.
The Cabinet decision authorizes Begin to present the agreements to the Knesset for their final tests. The proposed Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty depends on a vote by the Knesset to dismantle the settlements.
Labor Party Support
Opposition leader Shimon Perez voiced strong support for the agreements in a meeting of the Labor Party--which he heads--further assuring Knesset ratification.
Progress towards peace suffered, a setback over the weekend, however, when Jordan's King Hussein said in a news conference that the Camp David proposals for Jordanian participation in peace negotiations are unacceptable "in the present form."
Hussein reacted with dismay to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's apparent willingness to sign a separate peace treaty with Israel. If a separate peace is signed, Hussein said Saturday, "there will be very serious repercussions."
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance flew back from his five-day Middle East tour yesterday without gaining further Arab support for the Camp David accords.
Spcaking privately, U.S. officials said Vance had hoped only to persuade Syrian President Hafez Assad to soften his opposition to the Camp David agreements so other Arab governments might find it easier to accept them. But senior Syrian sources said Assad told Vance it was impossible for Syria to change its position.
In Washington, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger '50, said yesterday that Jordan and possibly Syria will join in the public negotiations, despite their public denunciations of the Camp David accords.
Arab Opposition
Kissinger said he interprets criticism of the pact by Arab leaders as meant largely to build support among their people and other Arab leaders. He added that their present statements are not indicative of the final outcome.
Kissinger described the current dispute between the United States and Israel over promises of a moratorium on future settlements as a "legalistic quibble" of little long-term significance.
Read more in News
Coleman Debates Race In Law