Witness to War and Peace: Egypt, the October War, and Beyond by Ahmed Aboul Gheit & Aḥmad Abū Al-Ghayṭ

Author:Ahmed Aboul Gheit & Aḥmad Abū Al-Ghayṭ [Gheit, Ahmed Aboul & Al-Ghayṭ, Aḥmad Abū]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Political, History, Middle East, Egypt, Political Science, World, Middle Eastern
ISBN: 9789774168857
Google: QQe8tAEACAAJ
Goodreads: 42429263
Publisher: American University in Cairo Press
Published: 2018-01-15T00:30:13+00:00

1. Studying the issue of the status of the Israeli civilian settlements in Sinai in the area to the east of Arish/Ras Mohamed.

2. Principles of a peace treaty on both Judea and Samaria (by which he meant the West Bank) and the Israeli proposal for self-rule for Arab Palestinians living in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip.

3. The points that might be covered by the peace treaty.

The message asked Egypt to offer its own views and a counter-proposal, if it so wished. The U.S. message also communicated Moshe Dayan’s urgings to Egypt to prepare a response quickly, so that things could move forward. Dayan had added that he was aware that disarmament in Sinai was the province of the Military Committee in Cairo, scheduled to start working a few days before the Political Committee in Jerusalem.

Finally, Dayan’s message added that if the military meetings managed to disarm the Sinai Peninsula, the Political Committee could concentrate on political matters, such as the matter of the Israeli settlements in Sinai. If there was no settlement on disarmament, then that, too, might be discussed in Jerusalem and Cairo at the meetings of both committees, although the Israeli prime minister added that he was aware that this was a military more than a political issue.

The U.S. ambassador in Cairo affirmed at the end of his communication that he was merely a messenger, and that these statements did not constitute a reflection of the American stance.

In Cairo, we in the political taskforce and Minister Ahmed Maher al-Sayed read the message with a great deal of disgruntlement. It was clear that Israel was still stuck in the old way of thinking: they were making unfounded assumptions, foremost among which was Menachem Begin’s demand, in his flawed proposal, to keep the Israeli settlements in Sinai, in addition to the issue of disarmament. Also, the Israelis were speaking of a settlement of the Palestinian issue in terms of mere self-rule for the Palestinians.

It also became clear that Israel was speaking of the plight of the “Arab Palestinians,” a transparent ploy meant to convey that there were “Jewish Palestinians,” that is, Israelis. This was in accordance with the attitude adopted by Menachem Begin in Ismailiya, and statements by Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, and others that “Israelis are the Jewish Palestinians,” and that there are “Arab Palestinians” living in disputed territory. We discussed the matter among ourselves. A draft proposal was prepared for Foreign Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Kamel, who agreed to present it to the Israelis via the US. It comprised the Egyptian view of the agenda for the Political Committee meetings, including,

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