Begin Expected to Announce at Special Knesset Session Monday That Israel Accepts Sadat’s Call for Ca

The Knesset will meet in special session tomorrow at which Premier Menachem Begin is expected to announce that Israel accepts Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s call for a conference in Cairo beginning next Saturday to prepare for a reconvened Geneva conference. Sadat’s official invitation had not been received here as of this evening but was expected by tomorrow morning, probably through U.S. Ambassador Samuel Lewis.

Sadat’s latest initiative was launched yesterday in his address to the Peoples Assembly (the Egyptian parliament) in which he reported on his visit to Israel of Nov. 20-21. He said he had instructed Acting Foreign Minister Pierre Boutros-Ghalli to contact UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim and the U.S. and the Soviet Union, co-chairmen of the Geneva Conference, to advise them that Egypt was prepared to receive all parties to the Middle East conflict “to prepare for the Geneva conference.”

Sadat said in an interview with NBC television correspondent John Chancellor in Cairo last night that he wanted all parties to the Middle East conflict to come to Cairo. “But if the Israelis only come, I shall start the conference. I shall be starting it with them,” he said, adding, “If everything goes okay here in Cairo and no one attends, except one or two or whatever comes, I shall be proceeding to Geneva also.”

Sadat said much the same today in an appearance on the CBS-TV program “Face the Nation.” “I shall be proceeding to Geneva, even if I go alone, and I shall be proceeding to Geneva for this comprehensive settlement,” he declared. He said that following agreement at Geneva, “I shall be calling for an Arab summit here and put what we have already agreed on before them…. And they shall have to decide for themselves.”

U.S. WAITING TO MAKE FORMAL RESPONSE

(Meanwhile, the United States said yesterday that Sadat’s proposed Cairo meeting could be helpful in preparing for Mideast talks in Geneva. “We believe that a preparatory conference involving the co-chairmen and other parties to the Geneva conference could be helpful and are consulting with the other parties,” an Administration spokesman said.

(Nevertheless, the U.S. said it would not make a formal response to Sadat’s invitation before consulting with other nations involved. Prior to its statement regarding a preparatory conference, the White House, in a statement issued after Sadat spoke in Cairo, said: “We will be consulting with those invited to determine their willingness to meet in Cairo to prepare for the Geneva conference.”

(An Administration spokesman said the White House had been notified of the substance of Sadat’s speech prior to delivery. According to some observers. the White House statement was meant to reassure the Soviet Union that the U.S. was not acting contrary to the joint statement of Oct. I and trying to ignore or sidestep Soviet involvement as co-chairman of the Geneva conference.)

PLO IS NOT MENTIONED

Immediately after Sadat’s speech, Begin met at his home with his senior Cabinet ministers, Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, Defense Minister Ezer Weizman and Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin. An official statement released late last night said that the Cabinet would name Israel’s representative to the Cairo conference as soon as the formal invitation was received. Official sources said later that the statement was issued on the assumption that the PLO would not be invited to Cairo or, at any rate, would not attend the conference. The sources said there were good grounds for that assumption.

In his speech, Sadat referred to the Palestinians but not the PLO. According to reports today, Syria and the PLO have rejected the proposed Cairo conference. They and other hard-line Arab states were reportedly preparing to convene Thursday in Tripoli, Libya for a counter-conference.

The Israeli statement noted that Sadat’s demand for total withdrawal from occupied Arab territories and the creation of a Palestinian state were contrary to the position of Israel supported “by more than 100 members of the Knesset.” It said Israel will continue to be guided by its positions in negotiations with each of its neighbors. But “as agreed between Egypt and Israel” the negotiations would be “without any preconditions.”

REAL HOPE TO END WARS

In his speech to the Peoples Assembly, Sadat referred at length to his historic visit to Israel and his talks with its leaders. “There is a certain change,” he said. “The change is, as far as the psychological atmosphere is concerned so that today there is real hope to put an end to wars and to the sacrifice and misery in the area and at the same time we could have a just peace established in the area.”

He told the Egyptian parliament, “Today I shall entrust the Egyptian Foreign Minister to contact the United Nations Secretary General and the two superpowers to tell them that Cairo is ready, starting from Saturday next, God willing, to receive all the parties of the conflict, including the two superpowers, and we shall send to all parties of the conflict and including Israel, that we should meet, all the confrontation states here in Cairo and prepare for the Geneva conference so that we do not go to the Geneva conference and discuss matters for years, but we should discuss matters and settle them within months.”

“Regarding the Palestinians,” he said, “once again I will say that we shall try to assume the responsibility, that once again we shall bear with them, we shall bear with the representatives of the Palestinian people, and we shall bear with the fact that they have never been deceived at one time. Egypt will never cede any of their rights.”

SAYS USSR BLOCKS PEACE EFFORTS

The Egyptian leader accused the Soviet Union of blocking peace efforts in the Middle East and using the Palestinians for that purpose. “The Soviets wanted us to live in a no-war, no-peace situation because as they analyzed it, they though they would not have a role in the Middle East if peace were established,” Sadat said.

“The problem we face today is not the Syrian party that is mounting the Palestinians against us. No, no, no. Those who are behind it all–it is strange–like, for instance, Moscow radio said in January (during the Food riots in Egypt) that it was a popular upheaval and that there would be a coup. Today Moscow radio says that I have given up the Arab cause. Immediately the Syrians picked up from there and went on to pressure the poor Palestinians who also got nervous.”

Sadat added: “Despite what I have just said about the Soviet Union, no, we shall invite the Soviet Union so that the Soviet Union does not believe that we are trying to keep them apart. But I would warn that if the Soviet Union tries to put any impediments on the way, that they would be committing the biggest error in their lives because I’m telling you, openly, here that anything we would find that could bring us permanent peace based on justice, we shall accept it and neither the Soviet Union nor any other person has anything to do with it. It’s up to us to accept it.”

Sadat confirmed during his speech that there had been an Egyptian military build-up before his visit to Jerusalem as charged by the Israeli Chief of Staff, Gen. Mordechai Gur. But he said it was simply a counter-measure to a similar build-up by Israel and that he had explained this to Israeli Defense Minister Ezer Weizman when they met in Jerusalem.

DENY SECRET MEETING

The two matters that have raised the most speculation here today are who Israel will select to represent it at the Cairo conference and whether Sadat gave Israel’s leaders any hint of his plans when he was in Jerusalem last week. Several local and foreign news sources said Dayan would to go Cairo. Dayan, who left on an official visit to West Germany today, denied those reports. He said the identity of the Israel representative would be determined by the Cabinet after it learned at what diplomatic level the Cairo talks would be held.

Both Israeli and Egyptian spokesmen meanwhile denied a CBS news report that Dayan and Ghalli met secretly in Sinai Friday for preliminary talks about a Cairo conference.

According to Maariv, the idea of a Cairo conference was raised by Sadat in his talks with Begin here last week. Both leaders agreed in principle to resort to direct negotiations whenever possible and use the good offices of the U.S. only in those cases in which direct contacts were not possible, Maariv said. It was further rumored that the latest developments were coordinated with the U.S. Begin was said to have received a cable from President Carter last night.

But other sources here insisted that neither Begin nor the U.S. knew of Sadat’s plans more than a few hours before he announced them. An aide to the Premier who was questioned by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last night, refused to say whether or not Begin had advance knowledge of Sadat’s speech.