Sadat was g r o w i n g impatient with the c o n t i n u e d f a i l u r e to r e c o n v e n e the G e n e v a Conference. The S y r i a n s had rej e c t e d his p r o p o s e d New York Conference; the Isr a e l i s were a n n o u n c i n g a huge increase in the number of West Bank s ettlements; the PLO rej e c t e d SCR 242 as a b a s i s for 40. N e w _ Y o r k _ I i m e s , 13-9-1977, p p . 1 , 1 0
41. Cobban, o p .c i t ., p p . 3 9 , 9 0 42. Brzezinski, o p .c i t ., p.107. 43. D a y a n , o p .c i t ., p p . 3 5 - 3 7
Sadat -feit n e g o t i a t i o n s in an a g g r e s s i v e s t a t e m e n t in mid August,
impelled to seek other ways of a c h i e v i n g progress. His D e p u t y Prem i e r Tuhami was sent to M o r o c c o -for a second m e e t i n g with D ayan on 16 September. Tuhami s u g g e s t e d that pe a c e p r o p o s a l s be d e v e l o p e d by both s i d e s but insisted that Israel must be p r e p a r e d to w i t h d r a w -from all o c c u p i e d territory. It was agreed that p eace d o c u m e n t s would be drawn up, e x c h a n g e d and shown to the U n ited S t a t e s in p r e p a r a t i o n for another m e e t i n g in M o r o c c o . ^
P r o x i m i t y T a l k s and the 'Joint S t a t e m e n t ’
Dayan then went to the U n i t e d S t a t e s to p a r t i c i p a t e in p r o x i m i t y talks i n v o lving F o r e i g n M i n i s t e r s in New York for the o p e n i n g of the UN General Assembly. It was hoped that these could pave the way for a G e n e v a Conference. Carter, M o n d a l e and Va n c e c r i t i c i s e d I s r a e l ’s obduracy, s e t t l e m e n t s p o l i c y and refusal to a l l o w P a l e s t i n i a n
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p a r t i c i p a t i o n at a G e n e v a Conference. Dayan r e i t e r a t e d that Israel
44. The s t a t e m e n t a t t a c k e d Zion i s t and A m e r i c a n m a n o e u v r e s and warned c o w a r d s and those c o - o p e r a t i n g with Israel that armed s t r u g g l e would escalate. N § w _ Y o r k _ T i_mes, 27-8-1977, p . 3
45. Dayan, o p .c i t ., p p . 4 4-53
wo u l d m a k e a subst a n t i a l wi t h d r a w a l in Sinai, would not a llow J o r d a n i a n s o v e r e i g n t y or a P a l e s t i n i a n state on the West Bank and Gaza, but would
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c o n s i d e r some -form of a d m i n i s t r a t i v e autonomy. There had been c h a n g e s in the Israeli position. They were p r e p a r e d to a l l o w P a l e s t i n i a n s in the J o r d a n i a n d e l egation; but as this was u n a c c e p t a b l e to both the PLO and Jordan it m a d e no g e n u i n e c o n c e s s i o n to the Carter a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ’s d e m a n d s for P a l e s t i n i a n r e p r e s e n t a t i o n at Geneva. D a y a n had also reje c t e d a US draft w o r k i n g paper w hich a c c e p t e d a
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