At the conclusion of the weekly cabinet meeting, Mr. Begin told the press that Ambassador Habib had returned from Beirut, Damascus and Riyadh and that he was still waiting for news from the Saudis, who by now were attempting to mediate between the United States and Syria. Meanwhile another Israeli pilotless drone was downed by the Syrians over Lebanon, "a very serious matter," according to the Prime Minister. Text:
"Yesterday I met Mr. Habib in my home, when he came back from Beirut. He did not intend yesterday to go to Damascus. News published to the effect that he was prevented from going to Damascus is not true. He did not intend to go from Beirut to the capital of Syria. He just intended to come back and he came back to Jerusalem. And he told me that there was some artillery shelling of the American embassy and also of the presidential palace. And then, in good humour, he said "I know that an ambassador, even an ambassador-at-large, is usually greeted with 19 salvos of artillery - but not by 190,000." Probably he was so greeted - whether by the Syrians or by someone else, I don't know. But he took it with good humour and, thank God, he was not hurt at all. Now he's in Jerusalem. I think he gets all the hospitality of the ancient people of Israel - and in Jerusalem, nobody kills Christians, nobody hurts Muslims and nobody wounds Jews. So, Mr. Habib is welcome to our capital city and he will continue. What he continues is the diplomatic effort. He brought me certain information about a proposal made in Beirut, but today it doesn't have any bearing on the real situation. Therefore I don't find it necessary - I even cannot give you that information. Maybe twenty-four hours later I will be in a position to do so. We must wait until he gets news from Riyadh, from the capital of Saudi Arabia. Maybe he will get them tonight or tomorrow. I will know about what happened in Riyadh immediately after Mr. Habib gets the news from the capital of Saudi Arabia. In other words, either tonight or tomorrow morning. So, we have to meet probably tomorrow after my usual work day. If you want to come, I will welcome you. If I have any other news, I will share it with you. If I don't, I will go and have luncheon, as I do every day, with my wife - with your permission. If you permit me to have lunch with my wife."
Q: Mr. Begin, there has been much speculation that the Israelis are losing their patience, that time is running out. Would you tell us your latest position on this.
A: Absolutely untrue. We don't lose patience, whatsoever. And will you please take note and inform A.B.C. that I inherited unlimited patience from my mother.
Q: There has been no time limit set by Israel for its sense of urgency?
A: Not at all. We didn't set any time limit. But the lady asked me a question (earlier, in Hebrew - ed.) and I answered her, and now I have to repeat that when we reach the conclusion that the diplomatic efforts did not bring results, did not bear fruit, we shall say so. We can do it. But now, we should not say so because it wouldn't be true. The efforts continue and we would like to see them bringing results. And we still hope that in this way the problem will be solved, and there won't be any war because we don't want any war with Syria, We don't want war with anybody else. We want peace. By the by, you didn't ask me the question, but probably tomorrow I hope I will find the time - Ill answer the message of President Sadat which I got the day before yesterday from the Egyptian Ambassador, Mortada. The message from President Sadat is very friendly, it mainly concerns the question of Lebanon...
Q: Mr. Begin, how does Israel react to the downing of a second pilotless drone on Friday?
A: Well, it's a very serious matter, of course because we need it for our security purposes, and they use SA-2 missiles.
Q: Mr. Prime Minister, is it true, as quoted in the press, that the mission of Mr. Habib is not only about the Syrian missiles in the Beka'a valley. In fact, he is trying to reach a much broader agreement about the whole situation in Lebanon. Is that true?
A: Not true. Not a word of truth in that statement. The only mission of Mr. Habib is to solve the crisis of the missiles and of the Sannine Mountains and of the Zahleh siege. And what he demands is a restoration of the status quo ante. This is the formula.