Defense Minister Ezer Weizman flew to Cairo this morning and from there to Aswan where he held a 50-minute meeting with President Anwar Sadat before the joint Israeli-Egyptian military committee had its ceremonial opening session this evening in the Egyptian capital. Working sessions will start tomorrow and Weizman indicated, before his departure and on his arrival in Cairo that negotiations will be long and tough.
On lending at Cairo Airport, he told reporters, “We are facing another war, not an easy one, the war for peace. We hope that like in all previous wars, we shall be victorious in this one as well.” He said he did not know what subjects Sadat wanted to discuss with him at Aswan prior to the military committee talks. “We are old friends,” he added.
No details of the Sadat-Weizman talks were officially available. However, according to reports from what was termed as well informed sources in Cairo, the two men dealt with their differing views on the Jewish settlements in Sinai and how best to tackle this issue.
Israel, the reports said, suggested the issue be included in a declaration of principles on a Middle East peace which Israel and Egypt are scheduled to discuss at the political committee meeting beginning next Monday in Jerusalem. Egypt reportedly suggested that the settlement issue be linked to the work of the military committee which is dealing with the Sinai issue, including a withdrawal timetable. (See story P.3.)
ELEMENTS OF COMMITTEE TALKS INDICATED
When Weizman left Ben Gurion Airport at the head of the Israeli military delegation, he said there would be “difficult moments” during the negotiations but that they would not “prevent us from striving toward the main goal so important to us and the Egyptians alike, peace.
Weizman indicated that the military talks will begin with a discussion of Israel’s security needs. His Egyptian counterpart, War Minister Mohammed Gamassy, apparently has agreed. But Israel and Egypt have completely different approaches to this problem and the Egyptians are insisting that the issue of Israeli settlements in northern Sinai should also top the agenda.
Weizman and Chief of Staff Gen. Mordechai Gur who is a member of the Israeli military delegation, briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee yesterday on the upcoming talks. According to their summation, the deliberations of the military committee will focus on two central issues: how to reach a peace agreement with Egypt under conditions that will not jeopardize Israel’s security and how Egypt would react were Israel to become embroiled in hostile acts with other Arab countries.
Weizman and Gur told the MKs that the opening positions of both sides are wide apart. Both sides strive for peace, but in entirely different ways, Weizman said. He said he could not guarantee that an agreement will be reached at Cairo but he was convinced, by his three meetings with Sadat in the past month, that there is good will on the part of both governments.
ISRAEL’S VIEW ON SINAI
Weizman and Gur insisted that according to the government’s peace plan Israel’s security requirements can be ensured even if Egypt regains sovereignty over all of Sinai. Given the sophistication and mobility of its arms, Israel can afford to agree to Egypt’s return to the old international borders, Weizman said. But he stressed that Israel would continue to control certain positions in Sinai, both military installations and civilian regions.
During the interim period, which Israel says must last at least 3-5 years, Israel will retain three military air bases in the Rafah salient and the Sharmel-Sheikh region, Weizman said. In the next stage, however, Israel will keep only the military air base and turn the other two over to the civilian settlers for their use. He warned that the negotiations will be “very difficult” but stressed that it was worth taking risks for peace if they lead to a stage where Israel and Egypt would exchange ambassadors and have normal trade relations.
Weizman disclosed that Premier Menachem Begin gave him an oral message to convey to Sadat. He said Begin was asking the Egyptian leader to end the war of statements and counter-statements of the past week. Begin also instructed Weizman to clarify for Sadat Israel’s obligation towards its settlements in Sinai and its policy of strengthening existing settlements there.
The war of statements referred to by Begin is now being conducted in the Egyptian press. The semi-official daily Al Ahram warned today that the Arabs are in a position to make war on Israel if Begin misses the chance for peace. The paper said Begin was wrong if he thought he could create a rift among the Arabs and impose a peace on Israel’s terms.
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.
