FBIS Coverage of the Middle East Peace Talks: 1977 December

PPROVED FOR RELEASE CIA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS DIVISION AR 70-14 13NOV201
V. 6 Dec 77 N 6 ISRAEL
Begin added: "The talks in Cairo are only the beginning of the road. It is going to
be a long and difficult road. However, I have great hope that we will proceed on the
road to peace. President as-Sadat's public remarks and private talks have convinced
me of the sincerity of his desire to achieve peace."
As for events in Egypt at the present moment, the prime minister said: "The day of
the messiah has arrived." With apparent reference to the Israeli journalists who are
in Cairo, he added: "I cannot believe how the Egyptians accepted our people in Cairo."
Political sources in London maintain that in his talks with- the British prime minister
Begin revealed more moderate positions than those that he has shown in the past. He
explicitly spoke about a plan to solve the problem of the Palestinian Arabs.
Yesterday, Jerusalem expressed surprise at President as-Sadat's remarks about the level
of the delegation.. As-Sadat yesterday criticized the composition of the Israeli
delegation.
Sources in Jerusalem said that the members of the delegation (the director general of
the prime minister's office, Eliyahu Ben-Elissar, and the legal adviser to the Foreign
Ministry, Me'ir Rosenne) were picked in accordance with the letter of invitation sent
by Egyptian acting Foreign Minister Butrus Ghali to his Israeli counterpart, Moshe Dayan,
The prime minister and the foreign minister chose the highest level in accordance with
the letter of invitation. At the same time, they also considered the possibility of
conducting contacts at a higher level, including the possibility of the participation
of Dayan and even Begin at the Cairo conference.
Jerusalem is not considering any change in the composition of the Israeli delegation.
TWO JOURNALISTS LEAVE FOR CAIRO WITHOUT CLEARANCE
TA051314Y Jerusalem Domestic Service in Hebrew 1200 GMT 5 Dec 77 TA.
[Text] The editor of the weekly HA'OLAM HAZE, Uri Avneri, who is also one of the heads
of the Sheli movement, left this morning for Cairo, via Athens. Avneri went as a
journalist on behalf of his paper.
Our correspondent Avner Tavori reports that the HA'OLAM HAZE editor neither received
the compulsory permit from the Interior Ministry nor coordinated his journey with the
government press office. Avneri is accompanied on his trip by a photographer from the
paper.
Commitment From Egypt
TA051654Y Tel Aviv IDF Radio in Hebrew 1510 GMT 5 Dec 77 TA
[From the afternoon newsreel]
[Excerpt] The Egyptian authorities have promised the Israeli authorities they will not
allow the entry into Egypt of Israeli journalists not appearing on the authorized list
of the government press office. Our correspondent learned this from the director of
the government press office, Ze'ev Hefez. Hefez added that Uri Avneri's departure
for the Cairo conference was not approved by the government press office, nor did it get
the approval of the Interior Ministry.