131. Editorial Note
On November 11, 1978, two meetings took place in Washington between the U.S. and Israeli delegations on the outstanding issues of the proposed West Bank/Gaza negotiations letter, the proposed Israeli letter to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance covering the list of unilateral actions Israel would take in its relations with the Palestinians prior to the opening of autonomy talks, and the time-phasing of the Israeli withdrawal to the agreed interim line. No memoranda of conversation for these meetings have been found. However, the Department of State sent a summary of the talks written by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Harold H. Saunders in telegram 287424 to Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, November 13. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840153–2234) In addition, Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs Moshe Dayan provided an account of the meetings in his memoirs. (Dayan, Breakthrough, pages 238–243)
The first meeting, lasting approximately three and a half hours, among Vance (who was involved only for the first two hours), Saunders, and Ambassador-at-Large Alfred L. Atherton, Jr., on the U.S. side and Dayan and his negotiating team on the Israeli side, produced “essentially sterile discussion.” (Telegram 287424 to Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, November 13; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840153–2234) In his memoirs, Dayan noted that Atherton provided him with a U.S. draft of the letter on unilateral Israeli moves vis-à-vis the Palestinians. Intended for Dayan’s signature, this draft committed Israel to lift restrictions on “the freedom of political expression” of the Palestinians and “their freedom to engage in political activities,” to relocate the Israeli military government headquarters from Gaza and Bet El to “new locations outside of the Arab municipalities,” to grant “amnesty for certain prisoners and detainees” in the West Bank and Gaza, and to agree to the establishment of an Egyptian Liaison Office in Gaza. A copy of this draft letter is in the Department of State, Office of the Secretariat Staff, Cyrus R. Vance, Secretary of State—1977–1980, Lot 84D241, Box 4, unlabeled folder. Upon receiving the text, Dayan promised only to forward the draft letter to Begin and to Jerusalem, informing Atherton that he believed its terms were “not acceptable.” (Dayan, Breakthrough, page 239)
The second meeting, involving Vance, Atherton, Dayan, Israeli adviser Aharon Barak, Department of State Legal Adviser Herbert J. Hansell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Michael E. Sterner, and Israeli Attorney General Meir Rosenne, lasted until 1:30 a.m. the following morning. This meeting, however, produced agreement to revise the West Bank/Gaza letter, converting the format to a letter from President Jimmy Carter to Egyp[Page 446]tian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. (Ibid.) The Department sent a copy of this revised draft in telegram 287408 to Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, November 12. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840153–2221) On November 13, the Department sent a revised copy of the letter that had a clause that referred to a negotiation deadline of December 17 removed. This point was one the United States had not discussed with either the Egyptians or Israelis. (Telegram 287766 to Cairo and Tel Aviv, November 13; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840153–2250) The meeting also produced a new proposal on the phasing of the Israeli withdrawal in Sinai to the interim line. The draft appendix to Article I, Annex I of the peace treaty stipulated detailed sub-phases for the Israeli withdrawal from Sinai; the Israeli delegation suggested that the sub-phases should be left for “later discussions among military representatives.” The Department sent the revised draft of Article I and the appendix in telegram 287387 to Tel Aviv and Cairo, November 12; Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Cables File, State Department Out, Box 114, 11/12–17/78)
The following afternoon, November 12, Atherton and Hansell presented the drafts of the West Bank/Gaza letter and the Article I appendix on withdrawal phasing to the Egyptian delegation for their consideration. The Egyptian delegation’s reaction was “largely negative.” Vance noted: “On West Bank/Gaza letter, principal objections were that it has been watered down in form (from joint letter directly committing Begin to letter from President Carter) and in substance (elections in six months to target date of end of 1979).” On phasing, the Egyptians stated that “anything less” than “accelerated phasing with specific times specified is unacceptable.” (Telegram 287424 to Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, November 13; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840153–2234)
The Department cabled a full draft copy of the peace treaty, including annexes and letters, in a series of telegrams to the Embassies in Cairo and Tel Aviv on November 12. (Telegrams 287386–287397 and 287406–287408 to Cairo and Tel Aviv, November 12; Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Cables File, State Department Out, Box 114, 11/12–17/78) In Israel, leaks of the draft treaty text to the press prompted the government to publish the documents. A copy of this published version is in Israel’s Foreign Relations: Selected Documents, 1977–1979, pages 577–581.