U.S. Rebukes Israel for Lack of Cooperation in Spy Case : Promises Not Kept--State Dept.

WASHINGTON â€”  The State Department, indicating increasing impatience with Israel, today rebuked Tel Aviv for failing to provide information it had promised about a Navy analyst accused of spying for Israel.

“The Israeli government has assured us of their willingness to cooperate,� deputy spokesman Charles E. Redman said. “However, they have not yet provided the full and prompt cooperation we requested a week ago.�

Redman said that the Israeli government promised the United States that it would produce the documents that Jonathan Pollard, 31, an American analyst arrested for spying for Israel, turned over to Israel but that it has not done so.

He said Israel also promised that the United States would have access to any Israeli officials involved in contacts with Pollard. They have not carried out that promise either, he said.

‘We Are Dismayed’

Redman said the Israeli government informed the United States without explanation that two Israeli officials had left the country Nov. 22 after Pollard’s arrest.

“We had no explanation for that departure. We were not informed. We are dismayed that the government of Israel was not as forthcoming as we would have hoped and expected. But the important point now is that we have full and prompt access to those involved,� Redman said.

His remarks amounted to an unusually strong rebuke of Israel, a close ally, but he said there is no implication that relations between the two countries have been “fundamentally interrupted.�

His comments followed reports today that Israel may allow the United States to talk with the two diplomats recalled from the United States.

2 Science Attaches

Israeli sources have identified the two as Yosef Yagur, the science attache at the consulate general in New York, and Ilan Ravid, deputy science attache at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

Redman had no comment on the identities of the Israeli officials alleged to be involved nor would he say how many there are.

Pollard, a civilian intelligence specialist with the U.S. Navy, has been charged with espionage and was arrested outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, where he and his wife apparently planned to ask for asylum.

His wife, Anne Henderson-Pollard, 25, also was arrested for possessing classified documents.

Talk but Not Question

Israeli newspapers reported today that the government will let U.S. officials talk to the two diplomats but under conditions that could limit the investigation.

Davar, the Histadrut labor federation newspaper, said the inner Cabinet decided Thursday to let U.S. officials talk to the diplomats but not question them.

The Jerusalem Post said Israel will let the FBI interview the diplomats but only in Israel.

The Israeli government had no official comment on the reports. The offices of Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir have kept a near-total silence on the case.