Hardly had the ink dried on the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, when hostile statements were made in Cairo by Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Khalil, his Deputy Hassan el-Tohami and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Butrus Ghali, the gist of which implied that Egypt might participate in a future war between Israel and the Arabs despite the peace treaty. There were also disagreements over the meaning of provisions concerning eventual Israeli military withdrawals from Judea and Samaria. Following are texts of two statements issued by the Foreign Ministry:
10 April 1979. The Foreign Ministry spokesman referred tonight to remarks quoted in the communication media as made by Dr. Butros Ghali at the Egyptian National Assembly, to the effect that Israel had undertaken at Camp David to withdraw completely from all the "occupied territories" according to the Arab interpretation of Resolution 242, and also that the Egyptian-Arab defence treaty had superior validity over the peace treaty with Israel.
The spokesman emphasized that these statements have no foundation, and that if Dr. Ghali had indeed made them he was misleading the members of the Egyptian National Assembly.
4 May 1979. The Foreign Ministry spokesman this morning stated that there is no foundation to a reported Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement to the effect that the Camp David Accords oblige Israel to evacuate Judea, Samaria, the Gaza District and the Golan Heights. The opposite is true.
The Golan Heights are nowhere mentioned in the Camp David Accords. Negotiations on determining the border between Israel and Syria should be conducted between these two states alone.
At Camp David it was agreed that the I.D.F. would remain in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District. It was explicitly provided that, ultimately while there would be certain withdrawals by the I.D.F. from these areas, there would be a redeployment of the I.D.F. in defined security locations in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District.