President Anwar Sadat thanked the people of Israel “for the beautiful way in which they reacted to the news of the approaching peace between Israel and Egypt” and renewed his pledge that “there will be no more war and we shall live in peace as friends.” The Egyptian leader’s greetings in the aftermath of the Camp David agreements, were conveyed in a brief interview with the correspondents of Yediot Achronot in Washington as Sadat emerged from meetings with U.S. Congressmen yesterday.
“I am glad that I managed to materialize all that I took upon myself and all that I promised. I know how much you in Israel are concerned over security and I wish to assure you that this problem is solved,” Sadat was quoted as saying in the report published here this morning. He added, “I am convinced that the Premier of Israel and myself will soon meet in Cairo to sign the peace treaty.”
Meanwhile, the first Israeli reporter to visit Cairo after the Camp David summit conference, Sami Greenspan of Yediot Achronot, reported today that Egyptian officials at the airport accepted his passport “almost casually” along with other tourists and honored the Egyptian visa that was stamped in it almost a year ago when the same reporter went to Cairo following Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem.
At that time, Greenspan recalled, the arrival of an Israeli in Egypt was a novelty but yesterday it seemed merely routine. He reported that the Egyptian official who examined his passport returned it with a smile, saying, “Next time you will not be admitted unless you have the visa of the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv.”
The reporter saw no special preparations for a triumphal reception when Sadat returns from the U.S. but was told by Egyptian officials that the reception “will be even greater than we gave Sadat after his visit to Jerusalem.”
Many Israelis are appearing at the Ministry of Interior asking for visas allowing them to go to Egypt. Earlier this year, the Ministry refused to grant such visas to a delegation of professors from the magazine, New Outlook, on the grounds they did not have written permission from Egypt that they would be allowed to enter. The Ministry has now announced that it will give visas to all Israelis who are assured entry into Egypt, but will not require written permission. It is assumed that many journalists, like Greenspan, who were in Egypt last year and have been told they would be welcomed back will now seek to go to Egypt.
GRAND RECEPTION PLANNED FOR BEGIN
Premier Menachem Begin is assured of a grand reception when he returns to Jerusalem tomorrow night. Mayor Teddy Kollek will greet him at the entrance to the city with the traditional “bread and salt.” The capital will be decked with flags and the populace is expected to turn out en masse to welcome “the leader who brought peace.” The Peace Now movement, which before Camp David was Begin’s sharpest critic, plans a demonstration to honor the Premier when be lands at Ben Gurion Airport.
Leaders of Peace Now who met with Shimon Peres here yesterday were assured by the chairman of the Labor Alignment that Labor would support the Camp David agreements even if it meant dismantling the settlements in the Rafah salient of Sinai. However, he said the Alignment would insist on a single vote in the Knesset on the agreements and the settlements issue. He said if the two were separated, Labor might abstain from voting on the settlements.
Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and Defense Minister Ezer Weizman briefed the Cabinet on the Camp David agreements this morning in its second special session in 24 hours. The Cabinet met yesterday to deal with an illegal Gush Emunim settlement on the West Bank. Cabinet Secretary Arye Naor said a timetable for the eviction of the settlers has been set but declined to divulge details. This subject was not discussed at today’s meeting. He said the ministers asked questions to clarify the outcome of the Camp David conference. Begin is expected to brief the Cabinet on Camp David at its regular session this Sunday.
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.
