Vigilance against Israel urged

It is fortunate that Arab officials have cautiously welcomed the decision of the Israeli government to suspend its land seizure in Jerusalem.

Some (Arab) officials do not exclude the possibility that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin made a flurry of contacts with his aides and advisers to suspend the decision so that his government could survive a vote of no confidence.

Other Arab officials harbor the sentiment that the decision was meant only to recognize Rabin's irresponsible policy toward the status of Jerusalem.

Fortunately, a larger number of Arab officials favor the first interpretation, and that is why these suspicious Arab officials urge Arab countries, especially the key states that had agreed to attend the proposed mini-summit in Morocco, to remain vigilant for Israel's next step.

Accordingly, observers in Arab circles insist that key Arab countries should further intensify their pressure on the Jewish state until Rabin's government abandons its hallucinatory dreams about Jerusalem.

These observers, who apparently are well acquainted with Israeli political techniques, warn that the Israeli government may well again maneuver to dust off the seizure decree before the final talks with the Palestinians, which are scheduled next year, to determine the future of the Holy City.

Rabin's decision was -- for the most part -- a careful political maneuver staged to weather a domestic political storm provoked by the dissonant political attitudes of rival parties against the policies of his government.

Again, Arab vigilance should be stronger than before to preempt attempts by Rabin's government to perpetuate the status quo of Jerusalem as the capital city of the Jewish state: These attempts may even now be simmering before talks on Jerusalem's future are held.

-- The Egyptian Gazette, Cairo