Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume VIII, Arab-Israeli Dispute, January 1977–August 1978

56. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassies in Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia¹

Washington, July 19, 1977, 2321Z

168595. For Ambassadors From the Secretary, White House For Brzezinski. Subject: Prime Minister Begin’s “Peace Proposal.”

1. You should pass following urgently from me, either directly or through Foreign Minister, to Hussein, Sadat, Assad and Fahd:

—Host government will have seen press reports that Prime Minister Begin was planning to convey an Israeli peace proposal to President Carter.

—During his meeting with the President today,² Begin outlined an essentially procedural proposal for getting negotiations started and on how negotiations might be organized in Geneva, together with alternative proposals for negotiations outside Geneva if efforts to reconvene Geneva fail because of PLO participation issue.

—Begin may reveal his proposal at his press conference Wednesday³ and, in any event, elements of it have already begun to leak out in the Israeli press.

—I want your host government to know that we have made no commitment with respect to Begin’s proposal, with which we see problems, but hope to avoid public debate on it pending my trip to the area in early August. At that time, I will want to hear your host governments’ reactions, comments and ideas before we come to any conclusions of our own.

—I would hope that your governments could similarly avoid taking public positions on or reacting to Begin’s views until we have had an opportunity for a full discussion of these and all possible alternatives during my visit. I will, of course, convey Arab reactions and any counter suggestions privately to the Israelis at that time.

—Depending on results of our exchanges during my trip, we remain prepared as we have previously said to offer our own suggestions about how to bridge any gaps that may stand in the way of getting the negotiating process launched.

—We will send a fuller report to your host governments on our talks with Begin following the visit, but I wanted to convey these initial points immediately.

Vance

1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East File, Subject File, Box 76, Peace Negotiations: 7–8/77. Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Sent priority for information to Beirut, Tel Aviv, and the White House.
2. See Document 52.
3. July 20. Begin held his press conference hours after Carter made a statement at the conclusion of their meeting. (Bernard Gwertzman, “Carter Is Optimistic on Geneva Meeting After Hearing Begin,” New York Times, July 21, 1977, p. 1) An excerpt from Begin’s statement is ibid., p. A14. For Carter’s statement, see Public Papers, Carter, 1977, Book II, pp. 1295–1296.