The pace of Middle East developments slowed down perceptibly today as Israel prepared to wait for Egypt’s response to its latest proposals for a joint declaration of principles and the outcome of President Anwar Sadat’s meeting with President Carter at Camp David, Maryland, set for next weekend. Little movement is expected in fact until Sadat’s return from his junket which includes not only Washington but key capitals in Western Europe.
Although the Cabinet decided yesterday to resume the military committee talks in Cairo, there was no indication today when Defense Minister Ezer Weizman would be returning to the Egyptian capital. Egypt, it is believed, wants to delay the next round of talks until after the Sadat-Carter meeting. Meanwhile, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Alfred L. Atherton met this morning with Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and his aides to put the finishing touches to a draft of principles based on Carter’s Jan. 4 formulation at Aswan. Atherton flew to Cairo this evening with the draft.
An agreement on principles between Israel and Egypt is expected to set the stage for resumption of the political committee talks that were abruptly broken off by Sadat when he recalled his delegation from Jerusalem on Jan. 18. Hope was also expressed that it would ease the way for Jordan to join the Israeli-Egyptian peace-making process. But there was no cause for optimism on that scare when it was learned that King Hussein forcefully reaffirmed his wait-and-see policy at his meeting with Atherton in Amman over the weekend.
PROSPECTS GOOD FOR ACCORD ON PRINCIPLES
Better prospects existed that Israel and Egypt would reach an accord on principles, some sources said today. The main obstacle was Israel’s flat rejection of the words “legitimate rights” of the Palestinians which it views as a code-word for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. Carter used that phrase at Aswan, although he has maintained consistently that he is opposed to an independent Palestinian state.
Another sticking point was Carter’s proposal that the Palestinians be given the right “to participate in the determination of their own future. While this is less than “self-determination” it seems to be more than Israel’s “self-rule” offer. Atherton’s efforts in Jerusalem have been centered on finding language vague enough to be acceptable to both sides. Apparently he succeeded in the case of Israel.
Israeli sources said today that Israel has gone “a long way towards Egypt” on the crucial Palestinian clause in the proposed agreement. But well placed Israeli and American sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that agreement on a joint declaration is not necessarily “just around the corner.” Similarly, Dayan cautioned today that it was “premature” to say that Jordan might join the political committee talks if and when they are resumed.
NERVOUS OVER SADAT-CARTER MEETING
Meanwhile, Israeli policy-makers admit they are somewhat nervous over Sadat’s upcoming meeting with Carter. They believe the Egyptian President’s chief objective is to persuade the American Administration to shift away from its declared opposition to a separate Palestinian state and to draw Washington closer to Cairo on the issue of territorial with drawals, especially on the West Bank. The U.S. already leans closer to the Egyptian than the Israeli view on that issue and the fear here is that Sadat will try to exploit that advantage in on attempt to have more American pressure brought to bear on Israel.
At the some time, top policy-makers here see the Carter-Sadat meeting as a possible turning point for the better that will break the present log jam in the negotiating process. They note that events up to now have proven how wide the gap is between the Israeli and Egyptian concepts of what negotiations ought to be about.
However, Israeli officials believe that some good will come out of the Carter-Sadat meeting if Carter can convince Sadat of the logic of Israel’s concept of negotiations. In that case, Sadat might lower his sights and resume negotiations with more realistic expectations of what Israel is prepared to give up. The officials say that much will depend on the stance that Carter takes and the impression Sadat gains from his latest visit to the U.S.
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.