Puzzlement by Sadat’s Criticism of Israel’s Delegation to Cairo

Israeli officials appeared puzzled today by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s apparent concern that Israel’s delegation to the Cairo conference will be on the level of “experts” rather than top Cabinet policymakers. The Egyptian leader implied that he was disappointed with the composition of the Israeli team when he told an American newsman at his home yesterday that the Israeli “experts might bog down the talks with details rather than focus on major political issues.”

Observers here noted that it was Egypt’s letter of invitation to Israel last month that determined the diplomatic level of the forthcoming Cairo talks. The letter, addressed to Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, invited him “to appoint your representative.” Clearly, the Egyptians did not expect Dayan to appoint himself or Premier Menachem Begin as his “representative,” the observers said, but were themselves thinking in terms of officials rather than ministers.

It was Begin who named his top political aide and confidant, Eliahu Ben-Elissar, Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, to head the Israeli team in Cairo. Given Begin’s highly centralized style of governing, Ben-Elissar is expected to reflect the views at the very top level of government in Jerusalem. He will be in constant communication with Begin during the Cairo conference.

Even so, observers did not rule out the possibility that at some point in the conference, secret talks at the highest level might take place between Israel and Egypt, probably in the Sinai buffer zone far from the news media gathered in Cairo. Such talks were considered likely in the event that a major substantive breakthrough or a deadlock in the Cairo talks seemed imminent.

WORKING ON ‘DRAFT PEACE TREATY’

Meanwhile, Ben-Elissar and Israel’s second negotiator, Meir Rosenne, legal advisor to the Foreign Ministry, were reportedly at work on a “draft treaty for peace with Egypt” which they hope can serve as a starting point for the Cairo conference.

The original draft was worked out earlier this year by Rosenne and Attorney General Aharon Barak and was submitted to the neighboring Arab states through the U.S. It is designed to serve as a prototype for peace agreements with each confrontation country. Officials here note that Egypt never formally rejected it. Reports from Cairo say Egypt is preparing a draft of its own.

The Israeli draft is said to concentrate in detail on the “components of peace” and relies heavily on precedents set by other peace treaties of comparatively recent date. It is intentionally vague on the territorial issues which are expected to be stressed by the Egyptians.

Some officials here admit that Israel does not know what to expect in Cairo since there is no prearranged agenda for the talks. The Israeli delegation, therefore, must be prepared for all possibilities. Israel’s negotiating position is expected to get final approval at next Sunday’s Cabinet meeting after Begin’s return from his visit to Britain.

DOVES HOLDING BACK

Cabinet doves, mainly members of the Democratic Movement for Change (DMC), but believed to include members of other coalition factions as well, have reportedly decided not to press the government at this stage to declare its readiness in principle for territorial concessions on the West Bank. They are sold to believe that such pressure now would weaken the hand of Israel’s negotiators and defeat their own purpose. The doves insist that they will act when the time is right if they feel the Begin government is not being sufficiently flexible.

Preparations are in full swing here for the technical and organizational aspects of the Cairo conference. An inter-ministerial committee is organizing the manpower which will consist of dozens of communications technicians, security personnel, secretaries and translators. Only men are being selected in deference to the customs of the Egyptian hosts.

In Tel Aviv, a Defense Ministry “think tank” headed by Defense Minister Ezer Weizman is working on strategic options related to an agreement with Egypt in Sinai. They are concentrating on the questions of free navigation through the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Suez, early warning systems, demilitarization and other “on-the-ground” arrangements.

COMPOSITION OF EGYPTIAN TEAM

Cairo announced yesterday the composition of the Egyptian negotiating team. It will be headed by Ahmed Esmat Meguid, Egypt’s Ambassador to the United Nations. His colleagues will be Osama el-Baz, foreign affairs advisor to Egyptian Vice. President Husni Mubarak, and Gen. Taha Magdoub, who participated in the 1973 cease-fire negotiations and in the negotiations that led to the Sinai interim agreements of 1975.

Meguid recently walked out of the General Assembly when the Syrian Ambassador delivered a bitter attack on Sadat’s peace initiative. El-Baz was a top advisor to former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy who resigned after Sadat’s trip to Jerusalem.