Waves of Protest greet peace deal
The treaty ending 30 years of war between Egypt and Israel was signed by President Sadat and Mr Begin on the White House lawn yesterday against a background of Arab anger with Egypt, and warnings that even tougher negotiations lie ahead on the Palestinians issue.
As waves of protests swept the Arab world, a leading moderate, King Hussein, joined the hard-line Presidents of Syria and Iraq in calling a summit conference of opponents of the treaty and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat threatened that President Sadat would be “eliminated” as a traitor.
The Washington signing ceremony was described by Mr Sadat and Mr Begin as an “historic turning point,” and Mr Sadat paid particular tribute to the role of President Carter, hailing him as “the man that performed the miracle.”
Haggling over the timetable for Israel’s evacuation of the Sinai oilfields and the coastal town of El Arish went on almost to the last minute, and it was apparent that Egypt and Israel still have serious differences over the extent to which Arabs in the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank will have self rule.
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