Nation: An Agreement Only to Talk

Begin makes no concessions on the Palestinians

Winston Churchill once observed that "jaw-jaw is better than war-war."

Jimmy Carter last week showed that he accepted this advice. Playing host to Israeli Premier Menachem Begin in Washington, a week after conferring with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Carter won an agreement that the two sides would keep talking, on an accelerated schedule, about autonomy for the Arabs living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. That was all: there was no break-through whatever on substantive issues —but then, Carter did not seek any.

That he did not came as a relief to Begin. The Israeli Premier flew to Washington expecting to be pressed hard for concessions. He had indeed prepared a onepage, unyielding summary of Israeli positions that he handed to Carter at the start of their seven hours of intensive discussions, spread over two days. And, speaking to American Jewish leaders in Washington, Begin insisted that Jews have "an inherent and eternal right" to establish settlements in the West Bank.

Though Carter on many previous occasions has assailed the Israeli settlement policy as a "hindrance" to peace, he did not raise the issue in his talks with Begin. Nor did he respond to the other points in Begin's memo, even when the Israeli Premier asked him to do so. "Let's ask Sadat," Carter murmured.

What emerged from the meetings was an agreement that Israeli and Egyptian representatives will begin nonstop talks on West Bank-Gaza autonomy next week and continue them for the 40 days remaining until May 26, when, under the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, the two sides are supposed to come to an agreement. Sadat earlier had proposed the marathon negotiations and asked that they be held in Washington. Begin, fearing that his representatives would be subjected to U.S. arm twisting, would not agree; he proposed that the talks be held for 20 days in Israel, then for the next 20 days in Egypt. He won; Carter agreed and so did Sadat.* Israel and Egypt could keep talking after May 26, but the Egyptians are extremely unwilling to do so.

Otherwise, nothing was settled on the substantive questions. The most important is what authority will be exercised by a self-governing council to be elected by the Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza. As Carter noted in his press conference last week, "If we can accomplish that, then the details of exactly how to administer land and water rights and how to administer other specific elements of security, like controlling terrorism, I think will be resolved without delay." Sadat wants the council to act as a legislature. Begin is adamantly opposed, contending that the council should have only narrow administrative functions. Making it a legislature, he believes, would lay the groundwork for a Palestinian state that might harbor terrorists, whom he described to American Jewish leaders as "two-legged beasts." If Israel does not retain full control over security in the occupied territories, he said, "peace itself would be murdered."