23 Years Ago in TIME

By Kristen Bolt, Sean Gregory, Unmesh Kher, Kate Novack and Julie Rawe Monday, June 16, 2003
    • Both [Egyptian President] Sadat and [Israeli Prime Minister] Begin are under considerable pressure. Sadat is anxious to show his Arab critics that he has not betrayed the Palestinian cause by making peace with Israel.

    For his part, Begin feels that the Israelis have already made a lot of concessions. They have abandoned the Sinai, with its oil fields, air bases and Jewish settlements, in exchange for Egypt's promise of peace. He has already committed Israel to the concept of Palestinian autonomy, however vague it may be, but is obsessed by the thought that he may have set in motion a process that could eventually jeopardize the future of Israel.

    ... Begin's critics charge that his government is engaged in a policy of "creeping annexation" ... Writing in the Jerusalem Post, former Foreign Minister Abba Eban argued that the settlements "squander the nation's resources at home and its dignity abroad without the slightest service to any authentic Zionist purpose."

    — TIME, April 14, 1980