Israel’s intention to retain its settlements in Sinai was known to Egypt’s leaders well before President Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem last November and while they were not “enthusiastic” over the plan, it was seen as a basis for negotiations, according to an article today in Haaretz. The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the story.
According to Haaretz, Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan met twice in Morocco, in secret, with Sadat’s representatives, among them Deputy Premier Hassan A-Tohami. These meetings took place before Sadat launched his peace initiative and were, Haaretz said, part of continuing efforts by Israel to draw Egypt into negotiations.
Observers here saw the Haaretz story as part of an Israeli attempt to prove that the Egyptians went ahead with Sadat’s initiative with the knowledge that Israel was determined never to give up the Sinai settlements. The Israeli plan was discussed by Dayan and A-Tohami at another meeting, after Sadat’s Jerusalem visit and was discussed again between Premier Menachem Begin and President Carter in Washington last December and between Begin and Sadat at their Christmas Day meeting at Ismailia, Haaretz said.
Dayan stated recently that the negotiations between Israel and Egypt are dealing only with the Palestinian issue and the future of the West Bank, not bilateral matters. Sadat has declared publicly on several occasions that he will not agree to the presence of Israeli settlements in Sinai under any condition.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
