(30 of 35)
On the tragedy of Lebanon. I was shocked, disturbed and repulsed by the attacks on the Palestinians in Lebanon. The bloodshed was grossly out of proportion to any threat to Israel on the northern border.
On a Middle East settlement. It should be compatible with the Camp David accords: Israel's withdrawal of her armed forces and military government from the West Bank and Gaza; some modifications of the 1967 borders to enhance Israel's security; specified Israeli military outposts with demilitarization of the West Bank; a legitimate homeland there for the Palestinians, one hopes with a link to Jordan, with all prerogatives of a nation except a military force and an independent foreign policy. The Palestinians deserve full autonomy and an end to human rights violations. I would not say they have a right to an independent state, but to a political entity that is an identifiable homeland. The only logical place for it is on the West Bank.
Jerusalem should be undivided, with unimpeded access to the holy places by all worshipers. But Jerusalem is not only part of Israel, it is part of the West Bank, and its ultimate status should be determined through negotiation. If Israel were to annex the West Bank, it would be, in effect, abandoning the Camp David accords and rejecting Resolution 242 as a basis for peace. That would remove any vestige of legitimacy from the Israeli claim that they are searching for a peaceful resolution. This would probably terminate the Israeli-Egyptian Treaty, which is predicated on Israel's honoring the basic terms of the Camp David agreement.
On Menachem Begin. He is a man of almost unshakable beliefs. He finds it very difficult to change his mind. It was torture for him to agree to remove the settlers from the Sinai. He has a single-minded commitment to annex permanently all the other occupied territories. He has a tendency to treat the Palestinians with scorn, to look down on them almost as subhumans and to rationalize his abusive attitude toward them by categorizing all Palestinians as terrorists.
I do not think Begin has any intention of ever removing the settlements from the West Bank, and that is a very serious mistake for Israel. There is no doubt Begin's purpose all the time was to cut a separate deal with Egypt. He disavowed that intention, but all his actions, all his words, indicated that. Begin was the most recalcitrant of all the Israelis at Camp David. I almost never had a pleasant surprise in my dealings with him.
On Anwar Sadat. I would not even try to deny that I was pro-Sadat. He was completely open, courageous, generous, farsighted. He was willing to ignore details to reach an ultimate goal of peace that was beneficial to him and to Egypt. Sometimes I felt he trusted me too much.
At one point, Sadat wanted to have all the permanent members of the Security Council meet in Jerusalem with the Geneva Conference members. It was difficult to dissuade him. I could not see any way to get Mao Tse-tung, Jim Callaghan, Giscard d'Estaing, myself and Brezhnev all to come. It was already too much to get the Palestinians and Syrians to sit at the same table with the Israelis.
Sadat was