The covert diplomatic activity slowed down considerably after the Vance visit to the Middle East. It was assumed that the next phase would be meetings in New York between the Foreign Ministers of Israel and some of the Arab states in preparation for a renewed Geneva Conference. On its part, Israel began to engage in various initiatives designed to bring about face to face meetings with Arab leaders. In the last week of August Prime Minister Begin was in Bucharest on state visit to Rumania. Following are excerpts from two press conferences given by President Carter in which he spoke of progress in the Middle East.
23 August
Q. Mr. President, twice in recent weeks the United States has said that Israel is in violation of international law in terms of the West Bank settlements, which some view as an annexation plan. My question is: What does the United States plan to do to protect the rights of the people in the occupied lands?
The President: Well, it has been the position of our own government long before I was elected President that the West Bank territory, the Gaza Strip, areas of the Golan Heights, the Sinai region, the occupied territories in other words, were not a part of Israel. Our government has expressed on several occasions, the Presidents, our Ambassadors to the United Nations and otherwise, that the settlement of Israeli citizens in some of these areas was in violation of the Geneva Convention and that, therefore, the settlements were illegal.
We have private assurance and there have been public statements made by Mr. Begin that these settlements are not intended to show that Israel was to occupy these territories permanently; that the final boundaries to be established through mutual agreement between Israel and the Arab countries was to be decided without prior commitment, and negotiations would include these areas.
So at this time our pointing out to Israel that these three settlements that were just established are illegal, because they were made on occupied territory, is the extent of our intention.
I concur with the statement that was made by Secretary Vance at the State department that this kind of action on the part of Israel, when we are trying to put together a Middle Eastern conference leading to a permanent peace, creates an unnecessary obstacle to peace. I believe that our opinion is shared by the overwhelming number of nations in the world, but we don't intend to go further than our caution to Israel, our open expression of our own concern and the identification of these settlements as being illegal.
Q. But you don't feel that you have any leverage at all to move in any direction in terms of military aid to Israel to keep her from violating The President: Obviously, we could exert pressure on Israel in other ways, but I have no intention to do so.
26 August
We have been quite active in the Middle Eastern negotiations, and I think that it is completely accurate and a very cautious thing to say that Cy Vance's last trip to the Middle East was very successful, certainly compared to the news reports from there.
We found a much more compatible relationship among the Arab leaders, a much more flexible attitude on their part. I think we still have a chance for progress there.
Obviously, the chances are directly determined by the attitude of the parties involved. Although we have a very major interest in the Middle East, we are not just idle bystanders. We don't play a narrowly defined negotiating or intermediary role, but we are not trying to impose an American or United States settlement upon the other nations involved.
We will be aggressive. But I have to say that there is going to be a great deal of disillusionment on our part in the Middle East and around the world if some progress is not demonstrated within this year.
I doubt that our government could continue to spend as much time and effort on my part, the State department and all the other agencies involved, on a continuing basis, unless it is obvious to us that all the parties involved genuinely want a comprehensive settlement.
Q. You said there will be great disillusionment if progress toward a Middle East peace settlement isn't achieved by the end of the year. What will the United States do next?
The President: Do next?
Q. If there isn't progress, and if talks between Vance and the Middle East Foreign Ministers next month do not accomplish anything.
The President: Let me say our determination to bring about progress in the Middle East is as fervent as it has been. We are not going to slacken our effort. I am convinced that the congress and the American people can have their commitment to a peaceful settlement aroused even more than has been the case in the past. We have found a growing impatience among the other nations of the world. In the European community for instance, with a Iack of progress. So I think that any nation in the Middle East that proved to be intransigent or an obstacle to progress would suffer at least to some degree the condemnation of the rest of the world. That is a persuasion in itself.
The three basic problems have been obvious for decades. They are being addressed in detail now in a much more constructive way than seven or eight months ago when I came into office. Territorial boundaries and defensible borders combined, the Palestinian refugee question, and a recognition by the Arab countries that Israel is there, that it has a right to exist, to exist in peace and to be accepted as an equal.
I think we have made progress on all three of those basic areas. My hope is that we can bring the parties to Geneva for discussions under the aegis of ourselves and the Soviet Union and then let the world and the participating negotiators themselves realize that it is going to be a long, tedious process.
There is no instant solution. Disagreements that have existed in some cases 2000 years can't be resolved overnight. But I think with that sort of demonstration on their part, then our commitment will continue to be very dedicated and very constant.