PRIME MINISTER

FOR PRESS ÃÂ  1 APRIL 1979

ELECTORATE TALK

All Australians will welcome the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli  peace treaty.  President Carter,  Prime Minister Begin and  President Sadat have begun a significant new chapter in the  saga of the Middle East.  For the Israeli people that saga

has spanned thousands of years with their exile to Babylon. Ã¢ÂÂ  For the Egyptian people the signing of the treaty marks  the end of thirty years of hostility with a neighbour,   punctuated by fierce wars in the Sinai Desert.  For America,

this treaty is a fitting tribute to the skilled and unrelenting  efforts of President Carter in leading the two nations  together in the quest for peace.

The signing of the treaty in Washington this week came after  months of work by the three leaders.  It began in 1977 with  President Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem to address  the Knesset. It was there he renewed his pledge that Israel

and Egypt should no longer attempt to settle their differences  by war.  In that one visit,  Israel achieved the implicit  recognition of a major Arab nation and new and exhilarating  prospects of real and lasting peace. .

Australia welcomed President Sadat's courageous initiative  because it represented the first real breakthrough in  30 years of continual warfare.  It opened a new path which  Israel has always wanted, but which had until then seemed

inaccessible - - the path to negotiation.

That historic journey in search of peace was followed by the  Camp David meeting last September, which came from the personal  initiative of President Carter.  After Camp David, there were  lengthy, difficult negotiations, and often despair about  the resolution of problems. President Carter's decision to

visit the Middle East early in March however,  led to the final  breakthrough.

The three leaders are to be congratulated for their dedication.   They displayed statesmanship of the highest order. Today, in  the aftermath of the treaty,  the world hopes that work on .   a comprehensive Middle East settlement can proceed.

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Much remains to be done.  It is Egypt and Israel that  have taken this step to peace.  Elsewhere,  Arab countries  have protested - often vehemently. It is our earnest  hope that these countries can be encouraged to accept the

treaty as a first step on the road to a just and  lasting peace.

Your Government has supported,  and will continue to support,  all moves designed to meet this end.  We have done this in  the hope that peace can become a reality for all the peoples  of the region. I have no doubt this hope will be embraced

by families who have settled in Australia from countries  throughout the Middle East and who have friends and relatives  still living there.

The treaty is a triumph for the forces of moderation and reason.  It is a victory for those who believe in the capacity of  man to resolve differences by thought and word - - and not  by fighting.

In world forums, Australia pleads the cause and course  of moderation. As an independent nation - joining with other  aligned and non-aligned nations - - by seeking to find  reasonable answers to world problems we strengthen the  cause of moderation. :

Our earnest desire is to break down the barriers between  nations -- between people. Symbolically, a great barrier  tumbled in Washington this week. We all hope that symbol  gives new impetus around the world for man's highest  mission - - peace.

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