President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin met in El Arish for talks on 27 May 1979. Secretary of State Vance was also present. Mr. Begin failed to convince Mr. Sadat to permit Israeli settlers to continue working two pieces of land on the Egyptian side of the new line, but he was able to proclaim that the borders between Egypt and Israel were open. From El Arish, where the two leaders also met with wounded Israeli and Egyptian soldiers, the two leaders flew to Beersheba, where President Navon welcomed President Sadat. On the same day the Egyptian president also received an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Following are the statements made by the Israeli and Egyptian leaders:
WELCOMING REMARKS BY PRESIDENT NAVON
Your Excellency, the President of Egypt, the source of Arab civilization.
I offer you and your distinguished entourage a cordial welcome on your arrival in Israel, in the city of our blessed father Abraham.
I do so as President of the State of Israel, in the name of the entire population of this country, Jews and Arabs alike.
This is no mere formal greeting, as required by protocol, but a sincere expression of our profound esteem and respect for your personality and your. achievements, for the noble Egyptian people and its great country, millennial cradle of civilization.
You come to us from El-Arish, the capital of Sinai, which we have returned to you in accordance with the terms of the peace treaty.
In accordance with this treaty, Egypt will receive the whole of Sinai in three years' time. At the same time, it is no light matter when we withdraw from it, for we are giving up substantial strategic depth, an area three times the size of the State of Israel, airfields that cost us much labour to build, a ramified network of roads, buildings and stores, and vital sources of oil. And - no less important - we are evacuating people who have built their homes with labour and sacrifice.
At the same time, it is clear that the State of Israel will faithfully carry out its commitments, and we should like to see the peace process and normalization of our relations receiving a more speedy and substantial expression.
Mr. President,
It seems to me that in the near future we must seek appropriate ways to reinforce the bonds of peace between us on the level of the two peoples. It is a great source of satisfaction to us all that both our peoples have expressed their fervent desire for peace in a variety of ways, and this desire is not confined to the level of cabinet ministers and military men. Cultural and scientific exchanges are no less significant than military and political arrangements, and it is important to prepare the way for them.
Long years of hostility and war have prevented both our peoples leaving the true character of the other. For a long time we felt that there was no foundation in reality for the picture that was painted of us in your literature and media.
All we ask is that we should be known as we are, with our virtues and defects. We are an ancient people, returning home after 2,000 years of wandering; a small nation, but a courageous one, longing for peace with all its heart; a people that has watered the flowers of human civilization with its blood and now seeks only to bring living water to fructify its own little country.
Nor do we have an adequate knowledge of you. Even those among us who were not born in the Arab countries would like to know more intimately your great culture and the character of the noble Egyptian people, rooted in its soil.
We know that this mutual acquaintanceship will not be achieved in a day, and there are also psychological barriers to be overcome. But it is vital if we wish to establish a peace on a firm basis, and there is no firm basis except the peoples themselves.
Mr. President,
In this generation both peoples have lived under the impression that all the encounters between the Arab and Jewish peoples involved hostility and hatred. Nothing can be further from the truth. In the past, there were periods of fruitful and friendly friendship, and even alliance in arms against a third party. Not so long ago - 60 years ago, on the fall of the Ottoman Empire - the leaders of the Arab and Jewish national movements regarded their movements as complementary and cooperated with each other in this spirit.
In 1919, Weizmann signed with the Emir Feisal, son of the Emir Hussein, King of the Hedjaz, the famous agreement for cooperation between them for the achievement of the aims of both sides for political independence.
In a letter that the Emir Feisal sent to a Zionist leader in the United States, Justice Felix Frankfurter, he wrote, inter alia:
"We feel that the Arabs and Jews are cousins in race, having suffered similar oppressions at the hands of powers stronger than themselves, and by a happy coincidence have been able to take the first step towards the attainment of their national ideals together.
"We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement...
"Dr. Weizmann has been a great helper in our cause, and I hope the Arabs may soon be in a position to make the Jews some return for their kindness. We are working together for a reformed and revived Near East, and our two movements complete one another. The Jewish movement is national and not imperialist. Our movement is national, and not imperialist."
It is quite possible that this vision might have become a living reality but for the opposition of certain elements in the area and the intervention of powers with alien interests which were opposed to our common aims. Who can tell if at that time there had arisen as leader of the state of President Jimmy Carter, who would, like him, have worked, with vision and persistence, to bring the two sides together for peace, the entire course of history might have been different.
Mr. President,
At Camp David we signed not an interim agreement but a permanent peace settlement, not a separate agreement but an agreement establishing a framework for a comprehensive peace with all the nations of the area.
Today, this aim appears distant and difficult, but just as things that appeared impossible yesterday are being realized today, so things that appear impossible today will be realized tomorrow.
History does not stand still. It moves incessantly and confronts mankind with new and varied possibilities and circumstances. Often men fail to notice what is happening, and the opportunities pass them by while they continue to mark time. You, Mr. President, have always said that "it is impossible to go forward without change. Those who cannot change their thinking will never be able to change their situation." You yourself have been gifted with this capacity. You draw your power from a profound inner faith and the sense of a supreme mission, together with a sober perception of the day-to-day reality. You embody in your personality both the village who knows the value of the soil, of every drop of water and crumb of bread, and a mind open to the thought, literature and science of all mankind. Your life is intertwined with the history of Egypt: Mit Abul-Qum, Zaharan, Prison Cell 54, the revolution, the withdrawal, the presidency, El-Arish and Beersheba.
When you turned to the way of change, you found us faithful partners in the desire to change the circumstances in which we have lived. The Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Menahem Begin, strove unflinchingly, persistently and untiringly for peace and struggled with strong opposing winds, and the government, under his leadership, did not recoil from difficult decisions in order to bring about the great change. The Knesset, representing the nation, gave its approval, with a large majority of members from both coalition and opposition, to the peace treaty, with a clear knowledge of its heavy price.
We hope that other nations in the area will join us on the road to peace. The way of war has been tried in the past and has brought only havoc and blood. Let the other nations of the area join the caravan of peace, so that they may assure their sons of life and the entire area of prosperity and progress.
REPLY BY PRESIDENT SADAT
President Navon, dear friends,
I was greatly moved by your warm reception. The genuine feeling of friendship between our two peoples is the best guarantee for a secure and happy future for every Arab and Israeli. Together we will revive the tradition of brotherhood and compassion between our peoples.
Our meeting today is a living symbol of the historic change that is taking place in our area. It signals the actual inauguration of peace and coexistence. Now that we have ended the state of war between our two countries, as part of a comprehensive settlement that will eventually include all parties to the conflict, we are moving without any hesitation to open the channels of communication and exchange. The potential is great. The future holds a tremendous promise. We are determined to give this march towards peace every chance for success and fulfillment. There will be no barriers between our peoples, no more anxiety or insecurity, no more suffering or suspicion.
And if I am to comment on what President Navon has stated in Arabic, let me tell you this in all candour. When I made my initiative, in November '77, and in the Knesset I have addressed you, the Israeli people, through the Knesset - I have told you my position, my people's position. I have asked that let us start a new page. I was genuine in every word I said: you must have felt this - and I am genuine until this moment.
When President Navon said that you have given us Sinai, let me say this: We have fought together, and today our disabled from both countries have met together, and we have given a solemn (assurance) that there will be no more war and that the security issue should be met with. I am happy that what I promised you in Jerusalem in November '77, that there will be no more war after the October war, and that the security issue should be met for both sides - I am very happy and proud because God helped me, with Premier Begin, to achieve this.
But in the same speech before the Knesset I have insisted that land will not make security. The land of the others, as your land is sacred to you, the land of the others is sacred to them. That's what I told you in the Knesset.
What we have achieved, really, through the spirit of the initiative of '77, is something that no one in the whole world could have imagined or believed that it will take place. But I didn't come to the Knesset to ask for my land - as I told you in the Knesset. On the contrary, I came to the Knesset and I addressed you, the Israeli people, to tell you that: Let us start a new era of love instead of hatred, with friendship instead of enmity. Let us write a new chapter, let us put a foundation for a new order in this world, for those who want to solve their problems should follow after that. By God, we have succeeded in this.
But never let us go back to what has taken place in the past. As I told you, me and my people, we are genuine for peace. But also we are genuine for our land, for everything on our land - for oil - for everything that is in Sinai or on our land. As I told you, the land of the others will not provide security. Only friendship, brotherhood, friendly relations, good-neighbourhood relations - all this will provide peace. What we need really is a new era. Let us not mention the past at all. Let us not mention who was right and who was wrong, but let us look to the future through love, friendship.
Through that we shall give another example like we gave when I made my initiative in '77 and when it was answered by Mr. Begin, and we have worked with all the efforts and perseverance to achieve what we achieved, and we also achieved what has taken place yesterday in El-Arish.
It is not that you have given us the land. It is the new era of understanding, friendship, the respect of both of us to others' land, to others' sovereignty, the complete trial to build every day - even every moment - a new momentum between our two peoples, who have got their civilization very deep-rooted in history.
As I said no more anxiety or insecurity. No more suffering or suspicion. Blessed are the peacemakers. May God Almighty grant us the strength and vision needed to complete our task and fulfill our mission.
Thank you very much.
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT SADAT AT BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
Dear friends,
For centuries Arabs and Jews have lived together in peace and fraternity. A common descent, from Abraham, a similar religious belief, and a shared cultural heritage have bound us in our pursuit of happiness and fulfilment.
In the dawn of Islam our great prophet, Muhammad, signed a charter which stipulated that the Jews who live among us shall have an equal right with our own people to our assistance and good offices. The Jews of the various branches domiciled in Yathrib (the pre-Islamic name of Medina) shall form, with the Moslems, one composite nation, they shall practise their religion as freely as the Moslems.
This spirit of amity and friendship proved to be a profound and lasting one. Maimonides chose to write his great works in Arabic. Some have linked his writings with those of Al-Farrabi. Our region never witnessed the communal conflicts that existed between Jews and non-Jews in other parts of the world. It is the responsibility of those among us who are endowed with vision to revive such spirit today.
The challenge before us is not one of scoring a point here or there, rather it is how to build a viable structure for peace for your generation and for the generations to come. Fanaticism and self-righteousness are no answer to the complex problems of today. The answer is tolerance, compassion and magnanimity.
We will be judged not by the hard positions we took but by the wounds we heal, the souls we saved and the suffering we eliminated.
We have taken the first step towards a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. It was a giant step, measured by the accumulated obstacles and psychological barriers that existed in the past. Yet it is meant to be followed up and completed.
This is an awesome task that requires all the goodwill and cooperation we can muster. Events of the recent past have shattered away old concepts of security based on territorial expansion and denial of national rights. The real key to security is genuine acceptance without reservation. I have no doubt that you will demonstrate in the months ahead a veritable willingness to live in peace with all your neighbours, including the Palestinian people.
Let us pledge ourselves to the cause of peace and brotherhood. Let no man, Arab or Jew, waste his precious fife on war and destruction. Let us join together in a solemn prayer to God Almighty to turn our souls from hatred and prejudice. Let us devote our energy and resources to improve the quality of life for every man, woman and child.
Thank you very much.
ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER BEGIN
We signed and duly ratified and brought into effect the treaty of peace between our two ancient nations. It is, no doubt, a turning point in the history of Egypt and Israel in the annals of the region in which our nations were born, established their kingdoms and civilizations, contributed great values to the culture of mankind, were oppressed and subjugated, fought for their liberation, and regained their independence.
In the case of the Jewish people, I have to add a unique phenomenon: The return to the land of their forefathers, Eretz Israel. That wondrous return, after 19 centuries of oppression, dispersion and suffering to the sacred land, given to our people by God, and liberated and rebuilt by valiant men. For 31 years, since we reconstituted the national home for the Jewish people, Israel, a state of war existed between our two countries. It had great, painful bearing on the lives and development of our peoples, on their social structure, on their economic situation.
The flight time between our main airports is only 45 minutes, as we - President Sadat and I, and our colleagues - are going to experience later in the day. But for almost two generations, this small geographical distance was an impassable infinity. Our young fighting men met five times on the battlefield, with unavoidable mutually inflicted, severe losses in life and limb.
Now after the exchange of the ratification documents, this state of war is terminated, and peace and good neighbourliness are established between us with open borders to be peacefully crossed in both directions by our citizens.
Practical steps have already been taken of normalization - which is much more than the opposite of a state of war -which, indeed, is the essence of peace. A boat flying the Israeli flag has sailed from Suez and passed the Suez Canal to Port Said, while goodhearted Egyptian citizens cheered its crew. The canal will continue to be open for all Israeli vessels, El-Arish was peacefully and amicably transferred to Egyptian sovereignty.
I am convinced that both countries are determined to carry out faithfully all the commitments under the peace treaty concerning withdrawal in stages of forces, demilitarization - which must ensure that the Sinai Desert will never again become a place d'armes or a route for attack - and the establishment of completely normal and friendly relations, as befits two nations which freely decided to put an end to the state of war and, live, side by side, as good neighbours.
I believe, ladies and gentlemen, that I can say that today both President Sadat and I sent from this ancient city of Abraham our thanks and greetings to the President of the United States, Mr. Jimmy Carter, who rendered to us historic services in bringing about this great achievement. At Camp David, with the help of President Carter, we reached an agreement on an additional subject; an agreement which we signed in Washington on the 17th of September. On behalf of the Government of Israel, I wish to declare that we shall carry out all the stipulations of that agreement, too; in letter and in spirit. Good faith should prevail amongst us.
Israel, I have the honour to say, already has given decisive proof of her good faith. For in the Camp David agreement it is written that Israel, Jordan, and Egypt will negotiate the modalities, the powers and responsibilities of the self-governing authority, the administrative council to be freely elected by the Palestinian Arabs, inhabitants of Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza District. We have invited, both by written and spoken word, the Jordanian Government to participate in the negotiations. It refused. As peace is involved, I will not hesitate to repeat our invitation; but until today, King Hussein's refusal is a fact.
Had we acted by the letter itself, we could have said, "Let us wait with the start of the negotiations to provide full autonomy for the inhabitants of Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza District, until Jordan agrees to join us in the talks." But we do not say so. Notwithstanding the fact that Jordan refuses to participate, we are prepared to negotiate, and we have already started to negotiate with our friends, the Egyptian delegation, only with the purpose to do our best to reach an agreement.
The constructive idea of autonomy is ours. At Camp David, it was accepted by both the American and the Egyptian delegations. It is a progressive, noble idea. The Arab inhabitants of Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza District will elect their own administrative council, which will deal with all the aspects of their daily lives without interference. We shall reserve security, which under the circumstances of the destructive, inhuman, bloodthirsty rampage by the genocidal, so-called PLO, is an absolute, inescapable necessity of life already recognized by every man of good will. Thus, Jews and Arabs will live in Eretz Israel in peace, in security, in good will, in human dignity, in common advancement.
The negativists, the enemies of peace, claim that Egypt and Israel signed a separate peace treaty. We did not. We consider and believe that, by the signing of the treaty between Egypt and Israel, we made the first - but indeed the decisive - step toward a comprehensive peace settlement in our region. The first step - to be followed in the future, with God's help, by peace treaties with other neighbours of Israel.
This is our goal, our resolve. This is what we are striving for. Such is the purpose we are determined to work for. If others are willing-so it shall be. And, with God's help, the Middle East, the cradle of human civilization, will again become the source of human progress.