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Report Cairo Sees Five Differences over Treaty Peace Provisions

March 8, 1979
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Cairo Radio said tonight that there are five points of difference between Egypt and Israel over peace treaty provisions, two of them significant and the others marginal. That assessment was made as President Carter was en route to Egypt to seek President Anwar Sadat’s assent to the new treaty proposals accepted by Israel on Monday.

According to Cairo Radio, Egypt does not accept Israel’s refusal to set a timetable for the establishment of autonomy on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and rejects Israel’s demand that the peace treaty be given priority over Egypt’s treaty obligations toward other Arab countries.

The radio described as marginal the question of revision security arrangements after a given period and Israel’s demand for the exchange of Ambassadors immediately after Israel completes the first phase of its withdrawal from Sinai, once a treaty is signed, as provided in the Camp David framework for a treaty. The third marginal point was Israel’s demand for preferential status in the purchase of Sinai oil.

ISRAEL IS MORE-HOPEFUL

Israel look a more hopeful view of the differences blocking a treaty Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, briefing members of the diplomatic corps in Jerusalem today, said that if the Egyptians accept the American proposals already accepted by Israel and Israel accepts whatever remarks Egypt may have– presumably to be brought to Jerusalem by President Carter–it would be correct to say that peace was truly near.

He said there would be only 3-4 problems, “rather fringy” in his words, that would remain to be solved. He said these were the question of diplomatic exchanges, the Sinai oil and American guarantees for the peace agreement.

It was learned, meanwhile, that National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, who is a member of Carter’s entourage visiting Israel over the weeks end, may meet with a number of Arab notables on the West Bank. The U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem was reported to be arranging meetings between Brzezinski and Arab leaders, mainly mayors and chambers of commerce chiefs and the heads of leading West Bank families. Carter himself will not meet with West Bank representatives while he is in Israel.

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