FBIS Coverage of the Middle East Peace Talks: 1977 December

PPROVED FOR RELEASE CIA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS DIVISION AR 70-14 13NOV201
V. 28 Dec 77 N 14 ISRAEL
And which side will world public opinion, which today stands beside us also as a resu1lt
of the concessions that we have made, take? Let us not forget this, including the
American public opinion. Will it stand by the side that calls, say, for a continued
temporariness, or by the side of the party that calls for a permanent solution, while
having consideration for the population living in the territories. And with Jordants
absence from the plan, will the PLO also be absent? And when there is a permanent PLO
threat, we do not know what the results of such a government will be.
In my opinion the government made a mistake in its choice of direction. It might be
able to avoid some of these mistakes--and it was able to avoid them [as heard]--were it
to actively maintain pariliamentary processes. It is untrue that parliamentary consul-
tions are required only to add honor to parliament. It is part of the introduction
of additional wisdom and experience to the government.
Members of the Knesset, with all their disadvantages and leaks, parliamentary regimes
are much stronger than regimes with nonspeaking mouths and nonlistening ears.
We know that the Ismailia conference was not a total success but it was a success. W'e
welcome the establishment of the two committees for policy and security. A security
committee in Cairo and a peace committee in Jerusalem is preferable to a conference in
Geneva which discusses procedure. These are direct and important negotiations, and one
should not doubt their value at all. We see no room, despite the difficulties that are
being revealed, and there are and will be difficulties, to accept the prime minister's
overly optimistic view, and I think that he is wrong in this optimism because the
difficulties naturally do not depend only on us, but there is no room to despair. At thesame time we all know that the alternative to peace negotiations--either by the use of
Soviet arms or pressure from the United States, or the renewal of the military option--
promises nothing to the Arab side, and the alternative of a return to the previous situat:i.on
is undesirable for Israel. Postponement will not help and evasion will not save. We
strive to bring a new order to the Middle East--not an order founded on wars, conquests
and fighting, but an order built on peace, good-neighbor relations and mutual respect.
The whole of the Knesset supports Israel's outstretched hand to peace. We are open to
ideas which contain something new, and the house is united behind a real peace--both
' in the government and the opposition. There is a firm and promising unity.
We will submit our positive proposals and we will vote for them. We will not vote
against the government's decisions just as we cannot vote in favor of them because of
the criticism that I have leveled. We will grant a free vote to each of our members.
BEGIN INFORMS AS-SADAT OF PEACE PLAN CHANGES
TA281231Y Jerusalem Domestic Service in Hebrew 1100 GMT 28 Dec 77 TA
[Text] In a conversation with correspondents at the Knesset, Prime Minister Menahem LEv;L;s
said that he has submitted to President as-Sadat, via the U.S. ambassador, changes i
his peace plan. President as-Sadat will receive the changes today. Begin told the
correspondents that the plan he submitted to the Knesset today is his original peace
plan. President Carter and Secretary of State Vance did not know about it until Begin
went to the United States.