Introduction

Volumes nine and ten of the series Israel's Foreign relations deal with the period of the term of office of the first government of national unity (1984-1988), corresponding with the term of the 11th Knesset. The main highlights of this period were the aftermath of the war in Lebanon and the withdrawal of the IDFfrom that country; the peace process and the efforts to find a formula that would enable the parties to the conflict to move forward in their quest for peace Israel- U. S. relations play a prominent role in this time, as the U.S. was seen by all the relevant parties as the key to any progress in the region. During this time Israel improved its international position and began to restore diplomatic ties with a growing number of countries that severed these relations in 1973. Among them were leading African nations and some Eastern European countries. But the main thread of this era is the peace process. The last year saw the beginning of the uprising in the territories and the moves leading to the start of a dialogue between the United States and the PLO, a move deeply deplored by Israel. usual, the pertinent UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions are also included.

As in previous volumes, all the documents reproduced here were previously published elsewhere either in the form of Knesset speeches, UN statements, addresses to various other forums and above all interviews in the Israeli and foreign media. Most of the statements and interviews given in Hebrew were translated by the staff of Israel Government Press Office or by the media advisers of the respective leaders. Statements and interviews included these ese volumes, as was the practice in previous ones, involve the prime minister, foreign minister and defense minister, as they were the three leaders responsible for the formulation and execution of Israel's foreign and defense policies in the period under review.

As in the past, there has been no attempt to provide uniform spelling or style or to edit the texts so as not to interrupt the favour of the intent of the speaker or interviewer. Each document is preceded by an editorial note seeking to place it in a broader historical context. There are also larger editorial notes preceding each year, explaining the key developments of that year.

The editor wishes to express his gratitude to the staff of the Israel Government Press Office the UN Affairs library of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, media advisers of Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. As usual, the documents included were chosen to shed light on the main developments of Israel's foreign relations, although the selection is by no means exhaustive. A number of issues, deemed to be secondary to the main concern - that of the peace process and Israel- U.S. relations, were omitted. It is hoped that this volume will assist students of history, diplomats, journalists and researchers in gaining a better insight into Israel's foreign relations.