Nation: A Sudden Vision of Peace

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No U.S. troops will be used. During the negotiations, Israel has promised not to build any new settlements in Gaza or the West Bank. Left unmentioned as too tricky for even a "framework" discussion was the status of East Jerusalem.

Framework for a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel affirms Israel's willingness to restore to Egypt sovereignty over the Sinai. It also affirms Egypt's willingness to make peace and establish normal relations with Israel. The document provides for security zones and for limitations offerees and armaments in the Sinai. It calls for the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the return of two of Israel's air bases in the Sinai to Egyptian civilian control. Much of that would take place within a year, assuming there is a signed peace treaty within three months.

Virtually the only important issue left unresolved is the status of the 17 Israeli settlements in the Sinai. Sadat had wanted, as Carter pointed out formally Sunday night, an Israeli agreement to remove the settlements as a prerequisite to a peace treaty. Israel, the President said, wanted to leave the issue for further negotiation. In an adroit move, Carter won a promise, which he pointedly aired in his report, that Israel's parliament, the Knesset, will come to a decision on the fate of the settlements within the next two weeks. The aim is to put world pressure on the Israelis not to be responsible for delaying peace with Egypt by continuing to insist the settlements are inviolable. Earlier in the week, a U.S. official had said of Israel's surprisingly strong stand on the Sinai settlements, where Israel has no sovereignty: "It's incredible. The Israelis are sticking Sadat right where it hurts him most." The issue is also a very heated one in Egypt; Mohammed Ibrahim Kamel was noticeably absent from the festivities in the East Room.

Never in the history of modern international negotiations have leaders been so isolated for so long in so single-minded an attempt to resolve the antagonisms that have divided their nations. They were working under highly unusual conditions. In contrast to the deadly serious items on the negotiating table was the bucolic setting of Camp David, with an enchanting hint of autumn in the air. The mood of informality was evident from the participants' attire. Instead of the pinstripe suits of traditional diplomacy, Carter wore faded denims, an old cardigan and comfortable sneakers. Sadat, in his elegantly tailored safari suits and sports coats, resembled a Continental taking the waters at a spa. Even Begin, whose sartorial formality is one of his trademarks, occasionally shed his coat and tie. Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and Defense Minister Ezer Weizman sported windbreakers bearing the Camp David seal, and U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski wore a submariner's jacket at several sessions.

Also unusual was the meeting's nearly total isolation from the probes of the world's press. It may well have been the rule of strict secrecy that enabled the conference to go on as long as it did, and thus make possible Sunday's dramatic turnabout. Not having to face a barrage of questions from newsmen, the participants had no need to posture or issue self-serving and sometimes inflammatory statements.

What was perhaps most unusual of all was the very cast of