FBIS Coverage of the Middle East Peace Talks: 1977 December

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PPROVED FOR RELEASE CIA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS DIVISION AR 70-14 13NOV201
V. 28 Dec 77 N 8 ISRAEL
A positive appreciation of this plan was also expressed by former U.S. Presoi"ert C
Ford, by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and by the spokesman of the U.SJewish community, Rabbi Dr Schindler. All of them declared that fairness was at thebasis of the plan.
On my way home from America I stopped over in London and presented both parts of ourpeace plan to the British prime minister and to the British minister of foreignaffairs. Both Mr Callaghan and Dr Owen expressed their positive appreciation of ourpeace plan. British Prime Minister Callaghan told our legal adviser that this is amost constructive plan.
l also extended this plan to Francois Poncet, the special emissary of the president ofthe French republic, Giscard d'Estaing.
While I was in the United States, I asked the secretary of state to contact Presidentas-Sadat and inform him in my name of my desire to meet with him in Cairo, in a neutral
place or, should he wish so, also in Ismailia. I mentioned Ismailia as the meeting
place because that possibility was discussed with President as-Sadat during his visit inJerusalem, The Egyptian president told me via the secretary of state that he chose
Ismailia to be our meeting place. I agreed. Thus, a few days after the end of the
mission in the United States and in Britain, the meeting took place in Ismailia,
Mr Chairman, this was a successful meeting. Its success came with its opening. We
had a private talk--President as-Sadat and myself--and in the first 5 minutes of thattalk the decisive matter was accomplished: the continuing of the negotiations betweenthe two countries for the signing of a peace treaty, as was postulated in lieu of the
term peace agreement, in the meeting of the two delegations in Ismailia.
The negotiations will be conducted at a high level. The committees will be a political
one, which will be meeting in Jerusalem, and a military one, which will be sitting inCairo. The committee chairmen will be the foreign ministers and the defense ministers ofEgypt and of Israel. The chairmanship of the committees will be rotated. Our foreign
minister will open the committee sessions in Jerusalem. The Egyptian defense minister
will open the military committee session in Cairo. A week later the chairmen will
change.
The political committee will deal with the civilian settlements in the Sinai Peninsula
as well as with the issue--which can be called Jewish-Arab--of the Arabs of Eretz Yisra'el.
The military committee will handle all the military issues linked to the peace treaty
concerning the Sinai Peninsula,
It thus came to be, Mr Chairman, that for the first time in 30 years, soon, in about 2
weeks, direct face-to-face negotiations will be started between authorized representatives,
ministers of Israel, and Egyptts representatives, its ministers of defense and of
foreign affairs. No third person will chair these committees, as .it was wont to be in
all meetings between us and the Arab countries, but the ministers themselves will conduct
the sessions, chairing them in rotation. These will be profound and military negotiations
for the achievement of peace and for the signing of peace treaties. And since this is
happening for the first time since the establishment of our state, for the first time after
five wars, for the first time after the proclamations from various directions that the
State of 'Israel should be annihilated, we have to welcome this turning point itself.
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