MIDDLE EAST: First Aid for the Cease-Fire

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Rather like a doctor rushing to keep a frail patient alive, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger returns to the Middle East this week. His mission: to try to inject some vitality into the Arab-Israeli cease-fire he was instrumental in negotiating in early November.

The cease-fire is alive, but barely.

The tent at Kilometer 101 on the Cairo-Suez road, where Egyptian and Israeli officers had met to discuss ways of carrying out the ceasefire, remained empty all week. On both the Suez and Syrian fronts, United Nations observers reported increasing numbers of cease-fire violations, including an air duel over the Gulf of Suez fought by Israeli and Egyptian jets. From Tel Aviv and Cairo came warnings that full-fledged hostilities could be resumed at any moment.

Kissinger's trip is aimed at reducing the chances of those hostilities and at making sure that Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Israel show up at the peace conference scheduled to convene on Dec. 18 at Geneva. There they will be joined by the U.S., the Soviet Union and U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. Although Egypt late last week declared that it would attend the Geneva conference, it at first publicly hinted that it might not unless Israel first withdraws some of its troops from the west bank of the Suez Canal. Israel however has refused to budge until Egypt removes most of its troops and firepower from the east bank. This is the main reason why the talks at Kilometer 101 have been deadlocked.

Last week Finland's Lieut. General Ensio Siilasvuo, commander of the U.N. Emergency Force, dashed between Cairo and Tel Aviv attempting to break the impasse in the Kilometer 101 talks. He succeeded only in gaining a promise from Israel to be a bit more flexible. This did not satisfy Egypt, whose President, Anwar Sadat, has been under strong pressure from Arab hawks to be tougher.

The Arabs argue, with some justification, that Israel so far has benefited most since the ceasefire. Israel has obtained the release of its P.O.W.s from Egypt (although at least 120 remain in Syria). Its troops remain in position to choke off all supplies to Egypt's encircled Third Army; Israel has refused to return to the battle lines of Oct. 22, before the Third Army was encircled. Egypt views this as a serious violation of the cease-fire and as an indication that Israel cannot be trusted to keep its word. Top Egyptian officials hope that Kissinger can help break the deadlock by pressuring Israel to begin a troop withdrawal from the west bank.

At the Leash. If Israel continues to balk, Egypt's Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy said last week, war could again erupt. Egypt's military commanders are said to be "straining at the leash," confident that they could wipe out Israel's west bank salient. Brigadier General Hassan Abu Saada, a commander of part of Egypt's forces on the canal's east bank, boasted that his troops are ready to fight. "Give me an order from Cairo," he exclaimed, "and I'll push on!" Israel Defense Minister Moshe Dayan scoffed at the Egyptian saber rattling. "The Egyptian Third Army was broken, and is kept alive by our mercy," he told Siilasvuo. "If the Egyptians want to start the war again, the blood will be on their heads."