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In the past the guerrillas agreed to such demands, then broke their promises and operated as they chose. If this happened again, the Israelis made plain last week, they were ready to return. But military retaliation seemed now to belong to an earlier stage of the conflict, and offered no solution to the new round of terror against Israelis abroad. In another step, a high Israeli official in Washington last week ruled out the prospect of any peace negotiations in the Middle East until Arab terrorism ends—which may be never.
Some Israelis were arguing last week for countering terrorism with terror of their own. Deputy Prime Minister Yigal Allon, stating the government position, promised: "We are not planning illegal operations on foreign soil." But two men, one a former leader of the pre-independence Jewish extremist group Irgun Zevai Leumi, were arrested for attempting to smuggle abroad guns, grenades and ammunition intended for the militant Jewish Defense League. Irgun Zevai Leumi in the old days broke away from the fledgling Jewish army because the latter was too cautious, and proceeded to ambush and kill British soldiers and murder Arabs on its own. Should any Israelis revert to terrorism now, then as a first step, Arab diplomats abroad might well begin scrutinizing their mail.