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He then began to read his tough and unacceptable proposal, after requesting that Begin not respond until he had discussed it with his aides. When Begin agreed, both seemed relieved.
During the reading of the paper, Begin sat without changing expression, but I could feel the tension building. When it was over, no one spoke for a while, and I tried to break the tension by telling Begin that if he would sign the document as written, it would save all of us a lot of time. Everyone broke into laughter. Begin asked, "Would you advise me to do so?" I said no, we had better consult with our aides.
All of a sudden both men seemed happy, friendly. Begin made a nice statement about how glad he was to get the document, how hard he knew the Egyptians had worked on it and how much he appreciated the thoroughness of their preparation. Listening to it had been very interesting, he said, but reading it would be much more informative. We parted in good spirits, everyone patting each other on the back. It was the high point in feeling until the final hours, many days later.
Day 3: "Premier Begin, you want land!"
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7. Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I met for two hours with Begin, Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and Defense Minister Ezer Weizman. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski were with me. We sat around a table in a small cottage named Holly. Everyone had read the Egyptian document. Begin was now excited and irate about the tone and substance of the document. "This smacks of a victorious state dictating peace to the defeated!" he said. "This document is not a proper basis for negotiations."
I tried to calm the group without denigrating Sadat's effort. I wanted to file Sadat's paper and go on to more realistic options, but Begin insisted that we analyze the Egyptian proposals in detail. Sadat used "Palestinian" to mean the Arab dwellers throughout what had been Palestine under the British Mandate, many of whom were now refugees or living under Israeli occupation. Begin exclaimed, "Palestinians! This is an unacceptable reference. Jews are also Palestinians. He must mean 'Palestinian Arabs.' " "Conquered territory! Gaza was also conquered by Egypt," Begin continued. I pointed out that Egypt was not claiming sovereignty over Gaza. "Sinai settlements! There is a national consensus in Israel that the settlements must stay!" This claim was to become the most serious problem of all. Sadat was insistent that all Israelis must leave his territory. Begin was equally insistent that no Israeli settlements in the Sinai would ever be "dismantled."
I told the Israelis that the key question was: "Are you willing to withdraw from the occupied territories and honor Palestinian rights, in exchange for adequate security assurances, including an internationally recognized peace treaty? If not, Egypt will eventually turn away from the peace process, and the full power of the Arabs, and perhaps world opinion, will be marshaled against you."
The expanding settlements were creating doubt that the Israelis were bargaining in good faith concerning any reduction in Israeli