U.S. Protests Israel Flights in Arab Airspace

WASHINGTON —  With Secretary of State James A. Baker III preparing for a Mideast trip to clear the way for a peace conference later this month, the Bush Administration on Tuesday angrily protested to the Israeli government over violations of Arab airspace by Israeli warplanes.

Diplomatic sources said that Israeli reconnaissance jets flew over Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia last week, prompting a protest from Baghdad and raising concerns in Washington that the incident might upset delicate diplomatic negotiations.

“When we heard of this, we were disturbed,” a State Department official said. “It was raised at the highest level of the Israeli government.”

The incident came to light shortly after the State Department announced that Baker will try to complete arrangements for an Arab-Israeli peace conference when he visits the Middle East next week, his eighth trip to the region this year.

“The purpose of this trip is to try to overcome the remaining issues and finalize the details that must be resolved before issuance of invitations and convening of a peace conference,” State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said.

She said that Baker will leave late Saturday for stops in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria. He expects to return to Washington next Thursday, although Tutwiler said that his schedule is flexible and will be extended if necessary.

There was no explanation by Israel for the flights, although the Israeli air force routinely conducts reconnaissance missions over Arab territory. According to sources, the Bush Administration is concerned that the latest violations of Arab airspace could complicate the mission of U.N. inspectors charged with finding and destroying Iraq’s nuclear, chemical and missile weaponry.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry protested the Israeli flights to U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, the Associated Press reported. The letter said that Israel sent four F-15 warplanes over Iraqi territory Friday morning, entering from Syria and leaving by way of Saudi Arabia.

Iraq’s complaints are virtually irrelevant to the Middle East peace process because the Baghdad regime will not be invited to the planned Arab-Israeli peace conference. But if Syria and Saudi Arabia join in the protest, it could make Baker’s diplomacy more difficult.

With procedural details still to be worked out, Tutwiler said that the Bush Administration hopes to convene a peace conference before the end of this month.

Although all of the nations that Baker wants to have represented at the conference already have agreed in principle to take part, some--most notably Israel and Syria--have said they will participate only under conditions unacceptable to at least some of the others. Also, there is no agreement yet on the makeup of a Palestinian delegation.