The Camp David summit conference concluded last night with the signing of two historic documents that provide a “framework for peace” in the Middle East. The following are excerpts from statements by President Carter, Premier Menachern Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt as they signed the document in the East Room of the White House.
Carter: “When we first arrived at Camp David, the first thing upon which we agreed was to ask the people of the world to pray that our negotiations would be successful. These prayers have been answered far beyond any expectations. There are still great difficulties that remain and many hard issues to be settled….But we should all recognize the substantial achievements that have been made.
“One of the agreements, entitled ‘A Framework for Peace in the Middle East,’ concerns the principles and some specifics in the most substantive way which will govern a complete peace settlement. It deals specifically with the future of the West Bank and Gaza and the need to resolve the Palestinian problem in all its aspects.
“The framework document proposes a fiveyear transition period in the West Bank and Gaza during which the Israeli Military Government will be withdrawn and a self-governing authority will be elected with full autonomy. It also provides for Israeli forces to remain in specified locations during this period to protect Israel’s security. The Palestinians will have the right to participate in the determination of their own future, in negotiations which will resolve the final status of the West Bank and Gaza and then to produce an Israel-Jordanian peace treaty.
“These negotiations will be based on all the provisions and all the principles of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 and it provides that Israel may live in peace within secure and recognized borders. This great aspiration of Israel has been certified, without constrant, with the greatest degree of enthusiasm by President Sadat, the leader of one of the greatest nations on earth.
“The other document is entitled ‘Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty Between Egypt and Israel.’ It provides for the full exercise of Egyptian sovereignty over the Sinai. It calls for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Sinai; and after an interim withdrawal, which will be accomplished very quickly, the establishment of normal peaceful relations between the two countries, including diplomatic relations.
“Together with accompanying letters… these two Camp David agreements provide the basis for progress and peace throughout the Middle East. There is one issue on which agreement has not been reached. Egypt states that the agreement to remove Israeli settlements from Egyptian territory is a prerequisite to a peace treaty. Israel states that the issue of Israeli settlements should be resolved during the peace negotiations…. Within the next two weeks, the Knesset will decide on the issue of these settlements….”
(The framework for a Middle East peace document encompasses) “a framework by which Israel can later negotiate peace treaties between herself and Lebanon, Syria, Jordan….It also provides for the realization of the hopes and dreams of the people who live on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and will assure Israel peace in the negotiations to come….”
(The document relating to a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel) “calls for the completion of the peace treaty negotiations within three months. I have noticed the challenge extended by these two gentlemen (Sadat and Begin) to each other. They will complete (signing the document) within three months….This document encompasses almost all of the issues between the two countries and resolves these issues. A few lines remain to be drawn on maps and the question of the settlements is to be resolved. Other than that, most of the major issues are resolved already in this document.”
Begin: “The Camp David conference should be renamed. It was the Jimmy Carter conference. The President took an initiative most imaginative in our time and brought President Sadat and myself and our colleagues and friends and advisors together under one roof. In itself it was a great achievement…and the President worked. As far as my historic experience is concerned I think that he worked harder than our forefathers did in Egypt, building the Pyramids….
“We had some difficult moments, as usually, there are some crises in negotiations; as usually somebody gives a hint that perhaps he would like to pick up and go home. It is all usual, but ultimately…the President of the United States wan the day and peace now celebrates victory for the nations of Egypt and Israel and for all mankind. Mr. President, we, the Israelis, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done for the sake of peace, for which we prayed and yearn for more than 30 years.
“Now when I came here to the Camp David conference, I said perhaps as a result of our work one day people in every comer of the world would be able to say ‘Habemes pacem’ in the spirit of these days. Can we say so tonight? Not yet. We still have to go the road until my friend President Sadat and I sign the peace treaties….Mr. President you inscribed your name forever in the history of two ancient civilized peoples, the people of Egypt and the people of Israel.
“I would like to say a few words about my friend President Sadat. We met for the first time in our lives last November in Jerusalem. He came to us as a guest, a former enemy, and during our first meeting, we became friends. In the Jewish teachings there is a tradition that the greatest achievement of a human being is to turn his enemy into a friend, and this we do in recipocity. Since then we had some difficult days. I’m not going now to tell you the saga of those days. Everything belong to the past. Today I visited President Sadat in his cabin…he then came to visit me. We shook hands. And, thank God, we again could have said to each other, ‘you are my friend’….”
Sadat: “Dear President Carter. In this historic moment, I would like to express to you my heartfelt congratulations and appreciation….You made a commitment to be a full partner in the peace process. I am happy to say you have honored that commitment. The signing of the framework for the comprehensive peace settlement has a significance for beyond the event. It signals the emergence of a new peace initiative with the American nation in the heart of the entire process. In the weeks ahead, important decisions have to be made if we are to proceed on the road to peace. We have to reaffirm the fate of the Palestinian people in the ideal of peace. The continuation of your active role is indispensible. We need your help and the support of the American people….”
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.
