FBIS Coverage of the Middle East Peace Talks- 1978 September

PPROVED FOR RELEASE IA HISTORICAL DIVISION AR 70-1 NOV201
V. 26 Sep 78 N 6 ISRAEL
The problem of the settlements was put forward. [heckling] I ask you not to argue
concerning the addition of manpower. There is no problem for the existing settlements.
We will even reinforce them, in Judaea and in Samaria and on the Golan Heights, with
more families. With regard to Judaea and Samaria and Gaza I had'no doubt about it,
I gave a promise to President Carter that, during the period of negotiations for the
sake of signing a peace treaty, and today we have negotiations only with Egypt, that -
is, during the assumed period of time of 3 months we will not bring in new civilian
settlements. This matter arouses misunderstanding and so, despite the fact that I
had no doubt regarding the substance of that promise, and that alone, on Saturday even-
ing we examined, with the foreign minister and the defense minister and Professor
Baraq, all the notes and the documents and it was proved basically that that was how
it was and in this spirit I am this week going to write the suitable letter to President
Carter. -
As for the terms, I was given confirmation by President Carter regarding the terms asthey appear in the original version, the English one, regarding our understanding,
that is: President Carter writes to me. I hereby confirm that you informed me of
the above as follows: In every document of the agreed framework, the terms Palestinians
or the Palestinian people are interpreted and understood and will be interpreted and
understood by you as the Arabs of Eretz Yisra'el and in every paragraph where the term
West Bank appears, it is understood and will be understood by the Government of Israel
as Judaea and Samaria.
Gentlemen, Members of Knesset, I request...
[Question about the legal rights of the Arabs of Eretz Yisra'el]
Everyone uses his own language and our language is Eretz Yisratel and Judaea and Samaria.
This is what we agreed on and. this is how it will be in the future. Mr Chairman,
members of Knesset, I request that you cease the conversations among yourselves. We
did not, either at. Camp David, or at the White House, sign any secret document. All
the documents have been published and the additional letter that I will send to President
Carter will also be published. All the material is laid before you. I understand, Mr
Chairman, that today there is a period in Israel of what may be called birth pangs.
This is a free nation.' It has differing views within it. This is a democratic
parliament. It has different parties in it. Even within the parties there are
.differences of opinion. This is one of the greatest events of our generation,
after 30 years of five wars, bloodshed, bereavement and making of orphans, we have
arrived at the moment when it is given to us, with very hard sacrifices, to sign a
peace treaty with. an Arab natiori numbering 'more than 40 million -people, and afterward
there is hope, foundations for'bel'ief, that the day is not far off'when we will signon a peace treaty with our other neighbors. This is a turn which may be called,
without any doubt, a historic one. In our hearts there is a prayer: May we succeed
in this, one after the other, and gain the peace which is longed for by all, without
any factional difference. We made all the efforts and, as I said, we also made the
sacrifices,for that day to come.
We have laid the documents before you. Everyone will think his own thoughts, will ask
his conscience and will vote in accordance with his evaluation. Thus I call on all the
members of Knesset, without concern for faction. I only ask that all the members of
Knesset, the representatives of a great nation which has suffered greatly and fought a
great deal, sacrificed much: Know how to evaluate the moral significance of this turn.
There have been 30 years during which we have hoped for the moment when we would sit
down for direct discussion on the signing of a peace treaty, on complete normalization
of relations, on the cessation of the wars, on the guaranteeing of life not only for
our generation, but also for our children and their children's children after us.
This is the moment. It is a great moment. I thank the Knesset for listening. Let there
be the will that, with the aid of the Lord, very soon we will come to the great moment
of signing the peace treaty.