International Sadat exactly right in M.E. peace efforts, says Shah

Press, 11 January 1978, Page 6

International Sadat exactly right in M.E. peace efforts, says Shah

NZPA-Reuter Aswan i The Shah of Iran left the' Upper Eg; ptian city of Aswan yesterday for Saudi Arabia after expressing strong support for Egyptian efforts to negotiate a Middle East peace. “I think that Egypt is doing precisely what we believe ia right,” the Shah told reporters before conferring with President Anwar Sadat. The Shah said after the meeting that the Egyptian plans “are good plans, and sound plans will be met with i success because this is needed. “Our region needs stability and we must start to tackle other problems which are cropping up on the horizon.” the Shah said. President Sadat, responding to a question at a joint press conference, said Egypt would ask Israel for compensation for the Sinai oil which it has used since 1967. Asked if the amount of: compensation he would claim would be S2IOOM. President Sadat replied: “Yes. yes.” The Shah said that Middle East peace moves would be the main topic of his talks with Saudi leaders. His visit to Egypt coincided with a row between Egypt and Israel over the future of Jewish settlements in the Sinai desert. An official Egyptian spokesman, quoted by the influential newspaper, “Al-Gom-houria.” said Israel wanted the question of keeping the Israeli settlements to be on the agenda for the Israeli- 1

i Egyptian political committee, ■due to meet in Jerusalem on! Monday. But Egypt rejected this on the ground that under a peace settlement all Israeli military or civilian presence must be eliminated from Egyptian territory, the spokesman said. The Israeli Prime Minister (Mr Menachem Begin) has said he might reconsider his peace proposals unless Mr Sadat modifies his demand for all the settlements to be abolished. The Egyptian Vice-Presi-dent (Mr Hosni Mubarak) told reporters Egypt was withholding comment on Mr Begin’s statement until it received the full text of his remarks via the United States Embassy in Cairo. Egypt and Israel, technically still at war with each other, coi imunicate officially through the American State Department. Three Israeli officers have .arrived in Egypt for meetings of a joint military committee, due to start today. The committee will discuss a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from Sinai, including the size of Israeli and Egyptian forces at each stage of the pull-back, the semiofficial newspaper, "AlAhram,” said. In Jerusalem, the Cabinet Secretary has said that Israel plans to establish three more Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River, but there is growing opposition to the move within the I ruling coalition.

i “These are not new settleI ments,” said the secretary , (Mr Aryeh Naor). “Their names have never been published, but the decision to erect them was taken months ago. Now the D.M.C. is appealing against the Government plan to the Parliament.” The D.M.C. is the moderate Democratic Movement for Change, a partner in the Government. This is the first time the policy on settlements in occupied territories has met serious opposition within the Cabinet. There are now 80 Israeli settlements in the occupied territories — 34 in the West Bank, 25 in the Golan Heights of Syria, and 21 in the Sinai and Gaza Strip. An estimated 4000 Israelis live in the outposts, but the Government has not released exact figures.

In Tel Aviv, an Israeli district court has sentenced Miss Terry Fleener, aged 23, of San Antonio, Texas, to five years in prison on charges of conveying information to the enemy — apparently Palestinian guerrilla groups.

The verdict was handed down in a closed-door session after a two-day trial that was also closed to the public. The American confessed in court to conveying information to the enemy, conspiracy to convey information to the enemy, and rendering service to unlawful organisations, officials said.