Mitterrand Going to Israel in March, JTA, Jan. 18, 1982.

President Francois Mitterrand will make his oft-postponed trip to Israel in early March, the Foreign Ministry said last Friday. The visit will be the first by a French head of state. In recent years, Israel has accused France of pro-Arab bias.

Mitterrand pledged to go to Israel shortly after his election last May, but twice postponed the trip. The first postponement came after Israel bombed Iraq’s nuclear reactor which was being built by France. The second postponement followed Israel’s decision last month to annex the Golan Heights.

The Foreign Ministry announcement Friday said that an advance team was leaving soon for Israel to prepare a Presidential visit in March. The March date is significant because speculation in the French and international press has been that Mitterrand would visit Israel only after April 25, when the Sinai is scheduled to be returned to Egypt.