A jubilant Premier Menachem Begin returned from Calro this afternoon declaring that his 28 hours in the Egyptian capital were “memorable….unforgettable.” He told reporters at Ben Gurion Airport that in a 50 minute talk with President Anwar Sadat they accomplished much more than in the months of negotiations before the Israeli Egyptian peace treaty.
Begin refused to divulge any details of their meeting because “the government and the Knesset have to be informed first.” But, he said, “President Sadat received us with the warmest hospitality possible….We are going not only towards peace but towards cooperation for many, many years to come.” The Premier will brief the Cabinet on his Cairo visit at a special session tomorrow morning and will afterwards make a political statement to the Knesset. The Knesset will then adjourn for the Passover holidays.
Begin was greeted at the airport by Cabinet ministers and senior officials, but there were no ceremonies, no army band nor guard of honor. He spoke of the crowds lining the streets of Cairo to cheer him. “There are 40 million Egyptians and I am sure I have more friends now in Egypt than in Israel,” he joked before entering his limousine for the drive to Jerusalem.
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.
