Israel was highly concerned with the Egyptian reaction to the Shamir Plan. Initially that country said it was studying the plan. Later it expressed its dissatisfaction with the elections in the areas prior to withdrawal. In order to assess the views of the Government of Egypt, the Foreign Ministry Director General was dispatched to Cairo. In the following interview he also discussed Israel-Egypt relations in the wake of the conclusion of the Taba affair. Text:
Q: You are leaving today for Cairo to discuss, among other things, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's plan for elections in the territories. What is there to discuss in light of the fact that the Egyptians have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the plan and yesterday stipulated elections by Israeli withdrawal from the territories?
A: I do not think this should be seen as final. First of all, we have a position, and our plan has not yet been finalized. Today we are talking about a team of ministers scheduled to gather in order to begin to work out the details. We are talking about an initial idea that is the central component of four others. The Egyptians have not expressed clear and final opposition, nor did the Mubarak-Hussein discussion outrightly reject the whole idea. We have seen many transformations in the Middle East that began with rejections and afterwards, when people saw that was the only means or the path for achieving something, they developed in a positive manner.
Q: Would you say that Egypt merely follows the policy line dictated to it by the PLO?
A: It is not an issue of lack of independence; Egypt is a leader in the Arab world. It has repeatedly proved as much during the past years in a positive manner. Its basic policy has been justified since it has managed to maintain peace as a strategic possession and to regain its stance in the Arab world. Nonetheless, for reasons of its own that are after all quite clear, it prefers to coordinate its positions in an absolute fashion with the Jordanians.
Q: The Egyptian Foreign Ministry and Palestinians claim that there is an attempt to separate Palestinians on the West Bank and in Gaza from those abroad. There are strong differences of opinions in this matter. What attitude should Israel adopt toward this situation?
A: Our attitude toward them must be completely clear, and I think they understand this. They say they want to set a process in motion. The only way to set a process in motion in its internal component, is to bring about some sort of calm, to reach some sort of dialogue, to create partners to a dialogue and to start the ball rolling. The Egyptians will understand this; they are very logical people.
Q: Do you think the -Egyptians can induce the PLO to accept Shamir's plan, and is Israel even interested in that?
A: In this matter we do not need PLO induction. I think that the Egyptians must understand that if they adhere to their position that a process must be set in motion, that it is necessary to create a dialogue and that it is necessary to bring international support for some sort of movement, then the only way to do this is by the first practical path that we are suggesting.
Q: Do you feel that Israeli-Egyptian relations have begun to improve in the month since Taba was handed over?
A: I think it is too early to judge. An experiment has been made, and there are practical difficulties. The fact is, the hotel is operating and functioning, people are arriving and travelling. There is movement, there is a network of tourist agents that is working to bring people more than once. Not enough time has elapsed in order to measure this criterion.
Q: Yes, but certainly it is easier to deal with the Egyptians today than it was one month ago.
A: There is no doubt that the finalization of the Taba affair has made things easier. At the time I am not sure we always correctly appraised Egypt's determination regarding Taba in the sense that they thought that the moment the arbitrators made their decision, Taba was already theirs. They viewed the entire continuation of the negotiations as an exercise in procrastination. There is no doubt that [the finalization of the Taba affair] has improved the atmosphere. I do not think that we need to demand, request or determine. We have partners for dialogue who have maintained the dialogue despite all the difficulties. That is a unique, qualitatively important and essential asset. And let us not forget that concerning the matter of soldiers missing in action: only 19 of the 400 missing have not been located. Efforts have been made; I have seen the files, we have learned the material. There has been cooperation. Sometimes it is severed, sometimes it is ceased. We wish to continue the process to explain to them in a very basic and simple way how much this matter concerns us, how important it is to us, and how much its incompletion disturbs people in Israel. The same holds true of media. I think that the simplest route in this instance is to demand from them in a very clear manner the following: Don't saw off the bough you are sitting on. Therefore, your essential, basic role is to behave differently in this situation, and not to insult people or compare them - heaven forbid - to Nazi criminals, and other such terrible things that have appeared in the Egyptian media.