The plans for Sinai and the West Bank proposed by Premier Menachem Begin to President Anwar Sadat at their Ismailia summit meeting contain important modifications of previous Israeli positions and especially positions publicly stated by Begin in the past. Details published yesterday in Maariv and Yediot Achronot seemed to have been essentially correct and Begin was furious that they were leaked to the press before they were formally presented to Sadat.
According to the papers, Israel recognizes Egypt’s full sovereignty over the Sinai peninsula and will withdraw its forces in stages, over a 3-5 year period, from all of Sinai including Sharm el-Sheikh and the Rafah salient. The withdrawal would begin when full diplomatic relations are established with Egypt. That is to be accomplished in four stages, beginning with the establishment of consulates, diplomatic missions, charges d’affaires and, finally, the exchange of ambassadors.
The territory evacuated by Israel will not be occupied by Egyptian forces. A United Nations force will patrol the stretch between Eilat and Sharm el-Sheikh and the remainder of the zone now occupied by Israel will be demilitarized. Israelis living in the Rafah area and the new coastal town of Yamit will remain under Egyptian sovereignty while retaining Israeli citizenship and will keep arms for self-defense. A civil administration will govern their daily affairs, the papers stated. Significantly, the Cabinet, at its special session last Thursday, revoked an old resolution calling for a permanent Israeli land bridge between Eilat and Sharm el-Sheikh.
The Judaea and Samaria regions and the Gaza Strip will be administered over a 20-year interim period by a self-governing body elected by the local population. Security and foreign relations will remain under Israeli control, according to the plan. A combined committee composed of representatives of Israel, Jordan and the local population will determine the extent of Arab immigration into those territories with each party exercising veto power. A similar committee will decide, at the end of the interim period, who will permanently govern the area.
The plan specified that Jewish settlements in the territories will continue but Arabs will also be permitted to settle in Israel. A council for Moslem holy sites will be established including representatives from the Arab states as well as the indigenous Moslem Supreme Council.
BEGIN ANGERED BY NEWS LEAKS
The newspapers were delivered to Begin just as he boarded the EI AI plane for Ismailia yesterday and during the 50-minute flight to the Egyptian air base at Abu Sweir, the Premier did little to conceal his anger from the 15 Israeli editors on the aircraft. He regretted that he had yielded to pressure to divulge his plan to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee and to the Likud Knesset faction though he would not say which group was responsible for the leak.
Begin’s dismay was shared by Moshe Arens, chairman of the Knesset committee. He told the Jerusalem Post today that he would not blame the Premier if he refused to give out any classified information to the committee until absolute security from leaks could be guaranteed. Arens said Begin had been very anxious that Sadat be the first to hear Israel’s peace proposals, otherwise negotiations might be impaired.
Begin was accompanied to Ismailia by Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, Defense Minister Ezer Weizman and a large entourage of legal, political and military advisors and aides. There were no cer### the airport where Cabinet ministers and Knesset members came to wish the Premier success.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
