Former President Jimmy Carter appealed yesterday to Palestinian leaders to recognize Israel’s right to exist and for an end of the “Israeli military occupation.” Carter’s call came as he welcomed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who went to Plains, Ga. to visit the former American President who sponsored the Camp David accords in 1978.
In a statement before Sadat and his wife, Jihan, attended a private dinner with Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, Carter appealed to “all Palestinian leaders to forego the use of violence and to recognize Israel’s right to exist in peace.” Carter added: “It is time for the Israeli military occupation to end and for freedom and full autonomy to be granted to Palestinians who live either in the West Bank and Gaza or as refugees from their homeland.”
During the welcoming ceremony, which was held on a softball field, Carter praised Sadat as a man of courage and strength, who inspired the world through his initiative for a Mideast peace settlement and set the foundation for the Camp David peace process.
Carter said that the high hopes of Camp David have not been sustained. “Negotiations to complete the Camp David accords are not being pursued and those who have depended on the fulfillment of those solemn promises inevitably will become angry and disillusioned as the months go by,” the former President declared.
But, Carter said, the situation is not hopeless because both Israel and its neighbors want peace and because Sadat understands that security is important to Israel and that Palestinian rights are most important to the Arabs. “Both must be guaranteed in order to have enduring peace,” Carter said.
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