169. Telegram From Secretary of State Vance to the White House and the Department of State1
Secto 12056. White House for the President and Dr. Brzezinski only. Department for the Acting Secretary Only. Subject: Secretary’s Meeting With Prime Minister Begin—December 10.
1. I met for two hours tonight with the Prime Minister Begin, initially in private and then with his principal Ministers (Yadin, Dayan and Weizman).2 At Begin’s request, I reported to him on my talks with Sadat and conveyed in detail Sadat’s proposal for a declaration in principle on withdrawal from the occupied territories and a solution of the Palestinian question. Begin did not reject Sadat’s proposal, and he and his colleagues seemed to understand the need for a decisive step on Israel’s part which would demonstrate to Sadat’s critics that his major move in visiting Jerusalem had been reciprocated. While the Israelis will almost certainly suggest modifications in the kind of declaration [Page 819] Sadat wants, I have the impression that they sense that something like this will be required to keep Sadat engaged in bilateral negotiations while protecting his Arab flank.
2. Begin then surfaced a dramatic proposal of his own. He said that by Tuesday3 he expected to have approval within the government of a serious proposal for a solution to the West Bank/Gaza problem which he described as a plan for “home rule;” he could not reveal the details until he had discussed it with the Defense Committee of the Cabinet. Once that approval is received, he wants to travel to Washington this Wednesday to discuss this plan with you and to ascertain your views. He would also stop in London (presumably on his return trip) to present the proposal to Callaghan. He would then propose to go to Cairo to present it to Sadat. If it were accepted, he said this could constitute a breakthrough to an Egyptian-Israeli settlement which could lay the groundwork for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.
3. After discussion of Begin’s proposal with my colleagues, including Ambassador Lewis, my recommendation is that you agree to see Begin for a quick, low-key business meeting, but that we ask him to delay his trip one day so that I will be back for his meeting with you which would be on Friday, December 16. I do not see how we can turn down a serious request from the Prime Minister of Israel and believe that, by broadening your discussion with him, you could turn such a meeting to the advantage of our overall objectives. We would have to impress upon Begin that his trip would have to be announced as an occasion to discuss with you the overall Middle East situation in the new conditions that have been created by the events leading up to the convening of the Cairo conference. In this context, we could couple support for Sadat’s proposal for a declaration of principles with a discussion of Begin’s Palestinian proposal, without commitment to the latter if, as I suspect, it will not be satisfactory as a final solution of the Palestinian problem. We would have to impress on Begin that secrecy about his principal purpose in visiting Washington is essential if Sadat’s ability to continue the course he is on, and our ability to support Egyptian-Israeli negotiations, are not to be jeopardized.
4. I am asking Hermann Eilts to inform Sadat in general terms of Begin’s proposal for a visit to Washington and the reason for it, since there is always the risk of leaks and we must protect our credibility with Sadat. It is possible that Sadat may also ask to come to Washington to make his case, in which event it seems clear to me we would also have to receive him.
[Page 820]5. I gave Begin this evening the signed letter from you which was prepared before I left Washington.4 I plan to give him the second letter tomorrow5 but, in view of his initiative this evening, thought it better to delay the second letter until I had your reaction to his proposal. If you agree with my recommendation, I will so inform Begin when I deliver the second letter, making clear that it must be kept secret that his purpose in coming to Washington is to present a “home rule” plan for the Palestinians, and that you will of course want to discuss the negotiating situation broadly with him including Sadat’s proposal.
6. I will be meeting with Begin most of the day Sunday,6 beginning at 9:30 am Jerusalem time, and would hope to have your response to convey to him in the course of the day. In our talks Sunday, we will also cover various procedural questions still outstanding relating to the Cairo conference which came up during my talks in Cairo.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840072–0401. Secret; Flash; Override; Nodis; Cherokee.↩
- See Document 168.↩
- December 13.↩
- The letter has not been found.↩
- The text of the second letter is printed in Document 166.↩
- December 11.↩