Egypt's Hatem: A "Dangerous Situation"

Deputy Premier Mohammed Abdel Kader Hatem is Egypt's No. 2 man, second only to President Anwar Sadat. Last week, in an interview with TIME'S Diplomatic Editor Jerrold L. Schecter and Correspondent Wilton Wynn, he talked about his country's aims and thoughts at what seemed to be the end of the fourth Middle East war. According to Hatem, Egypt was eager "for the United Nations to send an emergency force to supervise the cease-fire and withdrawal of Israeli forces. " The Soviet Union's offer to send troops to the Middle East, he added, was "an escalation to force the U.S. to pressure Israel to observe the cease-fire." Other points made by Hatem:

ON ISRAELI VIOLATIONS OF THE CEASEFIRE. The Israeli objective was to cut the supply lines of our Third Army on the east bank of the Suez Canal. But they had not achieved that objective at the time the cease-fire was to begin. They broke the cease-fire by attacking Egyptian forces and entering Adabiya south of Suez and attacking the city of Suez. They were hoping to cut off the Third Army and claim the whole area from Adabiya to the Bitter Lakes as their position at the time of the ceasefire. An emergency United Nations force must come in and make them move to their positions of Oct. 22.

ON RELATIONS WITH THE U.S. The situation is very dangerous. This is the last chance for U.S.-Arab friendship. President Nixon could reach the top in the Arab world by insisting on implementation of Resolution 242. Trade, diplomatic relations, energy--you cannot imagine the change that would happen in this area. But if 242 is not implemented, it will be impossible to erase the hatred of the Arabs for the U.S.

We do not understand why the U.S. should send arms to Israel to kill Arabs. The U.S. has sent Israel weapons that have never been seen in action before, new kinds of antitank missiles and electronic equipment. We could see the effects of American aid after Oct. 16. From Oct. 6 to Oct. 16 there was a marked decline in the effectiveness of the Israeli air force. They began with 3,000 sorties a day and declined to about 1,500 on Oct. 16. But after Oct. 16 the number of daily sorties increased sharply. The U.S. supplied Israel with new planes, helicopters and tanks, and volunteers from the U.S., usually with dual nationality, arrived in large numbers. U.S. planes flew into El Arish airport on the edge of the Sinai with tanks that were sent to the front on tractor tank transports. This is the equipment that Israel is using now.

ON THE NEW ARAB MOOD. Before Oct. 6 there was a state of no war, no peace. Now that is changed. The Arab world is using the energy weapon for the first time. There has never been such a firm stand against the U.S. in the Arab world as there is today. It was said that Israel could not be defeated. That is nonsense. It was said that Israel would not suffer heavy casualties. Now there are many Israeli casualties. The implementation of Resolution 242 is more likely now than before.

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