Sadat Concerned over Settlements in Sinai but is Refraining from Hardline Demands, Ministers Tell Be

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is concerned over Israeli settlements in the Sinai, he told a group of American Evangelical ministers with whom he met a few days ago. They met with Premier Menachem Begin in Jerusalem today. Sadat warned that Israel’s security in the Sinai could not be based on these settlements, which he said were erected on “his soil” and violated “his sovereignty.” However the ministers noted that Sadat was a “very warm and very gracious” person and “conciliatory in nature.”

The 10-member fact-finding and good-will mission arrived in Jerusalem yesterday via the Allenby Bridge over the Jordan River after a visit to Amman and Cairo. The delegation, headed by Rev. Billy Zeoli and Pastor Jerry Falwell, met Saturday with Sadat and Sunday with Crown Prince Hassan and leading members of the Jordanian government. Delegates handed Begin a special written message from Sadat.

Following the meeting with Begin, Falwell told newsmen Sadat had told them the Israeli settlements in the Sinai would not be acceptable “for it was a violation of his land and his sovereignty.” Sadat said, “there must be a solution to the Palestinian problem before there can be a lasting peace,” Falwell said.

However, the delegation members noted, Sadat had been careful not to make any demands that could be construed as hardline or prescriptive, “something that Israel could not live with. Personally,” said Falwell, “I was impressed that Sadat was a warm and generous person, and after listening to him I am convinced that a peace settlement is attainable.”

The delegation conveyed to Begin yet another wish expressed by Sadat–to build “a church, a synagogue and a mosque” on top of Mt. Sinai. In response, Begin assured his guests that “everything is negotiable.” According to the ministers, Begin said: “If we want to have peace, we cannot say that anything is not negotiable. Let’s keep talking, let’s keep the doors open.” Begin, they noted, “indicated to us just as Mr. Sadat did–we want peace–and we believe both of them.”