— A leaked report of lengthy conversations between President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Ambassador Eliqhu Ben-Elissar in Cairo last week, in which the Egyptian leader reaffirmed his support of the Camp David peace process and indicated opposition to the European Middle East initiative, touched off a political furor here today with ramifications for the coming election campaign.
The report, contained in classified cables from Ben-Elissar to his superiors in Jerusalem, was broadcast by Kol Israel Radio last night and on television. Some portions of the cables were read verbatim. Ben-Elissar was said to be furious and is demanding an investigation, according to press reports from Cairo this morning. Egyptian officials also were reportedly angered and embarrassed by the leak which they fear might damage Sadat’s visit to Europe this week.
Sadat will address the Parliament of Europe in Luxembourg tomorrow, the first Arab head of state invited to speak before that body. According to the leaked cables, he told Ben-Elissar that the initiative undertaken by the European Economic Community (EEC) “could certainly not replace, supersede or undermine” the Camp David process and the preeminent American peacemaking effort in the Middle East.
Sadat also said, according to the cables, that he suspected some European statesmen were seeking to “drive a wedge” between Israel and Egypt.
PROBING ORIGIN OF THE LEAK
David Kimche, Director General of the Prime Ministers Office, was said to be distraught over the leak and was conducting energetic inquiries to ascertain that it did not originate from his bureau. But the prevailing opinion among political observers is that the Prime Minister’s Office did in fact leak the cables for election campaign reasons because they reflected well on the Likud government’s relations with Egypt.
Ben-Elissar’s reports seemed to show that normalization between Israel and Egypt is progressing well despite periodic problems and that there were prospects for resuming the West Bank/Gaza autonomy talks, suspended by Egypt last May.
The Israeli envoy reported in his cables that Sadat showed interest in the idea of agricultural cooperation with Israel and suggested a major irrigation project in Egypt based on Israel’s know-how and experience. Sadat also disclosed that he had asked Osman Ahmed Osman, head of the major Arab contractors firm, to study the prospects of setting up kibbutz type agricultural communities in Egypt.
Ben-Elissar reported that he raised the issue of resuming the autonomy talks and that while Sadat’s initial reaction was that “it is not practical, “he eventually conceded that perhaps the Israeli envoy was right and that there was a chance to resume the talks. Sadat also reiterated his belief that there was no viable “Jordanian option” at this time and that the Palestine Liberation Organization could not be a partner in negotiations with Israel.
According to the leaked report, Sadat maintained that there were sufficient Arab leaders on the West Bank and Gaza Strip to adequately represent the Palestinians in the peace process. Ben-Elissar’s cables minutely detailed his meeting with the Egyptian leader.
At one point, the Israeli envoy noted, the President’s wife, Jihan Sadat, entered the room where the two men were talking and apologized to Ben-Elissar for not visiting the Israeli pavilion at the international book fair in Cairo last week and for not shaking his hand when she officially opened the fair 10 days ago. She said she was preoccupied with the many duties incumbent on her during the ceremonial opening.
Sadat himself told the Ambassador that he had given orders to permit Israel’s participation in the book fair despite vigorous opposition from some political quarters in Cairo.
POTENT FACTOR IN THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN
The leak, if it was indeed politically motivated, indicated how potent a factor the Israeli-Egyptian relationship will be in the election campaign. According to all opinion polls to date, the Labor Party will defeat Likud by a substantial margin. Premier Menachem Begin is expected to stress to the electorate the role he and his government played in achieving the historic peace treaty and in developing the peace process with Egypt since then.
The opposition Labor Party was understandably angered by the leak and with one of its own leaders, former Premier Yitzhak Rabin, who said in a radio interview Saturday that in the short-term, Sadat preferred Begin to Labor Party chairman Simon Peres as his negotiating partner. Labor has been promoting the “Jordanian option” and negotiations with King Hussein which Sadat opposes. But, according to Rabin, the Egyptians feel Labor may be a more flexible negotiator in the long term. ‘An Event Of Historic Import’s
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