Egypt, Syria and Iraq, which three weeks ago initiated a new United Arab Republic Federation, confirmed here today in a letter to the Security Council that they aim to “liberate Palestine.”
A letter signed by the permanent representatives of the three Arab states, addressed this morning to the chairman of the Security Council, stated that the Joint declaration announcing the formation of the new federation issued April 17 in Cairo by Egypt, Syria and Iraq, had merely “reiterated and reaffirmed a view that our three governments, separately and jointly” intend to “uphold and fully safeguard the rights of the Palestinian people.”
The Egypt-Iraq-Syrian letter was in reply to one sent to the Security Council last Monday by Michael Comay, Israel’s Permanent Representative here, who formally notified the Council that, in Israel’s view, the new Federation’s plan to “liberate Palestine” is aimed at no other goal “than to destroy Israel.”
In the three-power letter, the Arab representatives charged that “the expansionist aims” of Israel “have never been concealed.” They cited in alleged proof a statement purportedly made in a book by Israel Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, presumably asserting that present day Israel “has been established in only a portion of the land of Israel.”
“It is quite evident,” the Arab letter continued, “that in raising the question now, Israel is in fact covering up for possible military action against the Arab states. This belief is reinforced by recent statements of Israeli officials and Zionist leaders threatening to invade Jordan. This is not the first time that Israel has pursued such maneuvers to cover up its plans for aggressive action. Our governments deem it necessary to draw the attention of the Security Council to these Israeli aggressive intentions which endanger peace and security.”
ISRAEL CHARGES ARABS WITH FAILING TO ANSWER CHARGES
Immediately after the Arab letter to the Security Council was made public, a spokesman here for Israel’s Permanent Mission stated: “The Arab reply carefully dodges the issue, and what it does not say is more significant than what it does say. The Israel letter–addressed to the Security Council last Monday–referred to certain statements in the Cairo Joint declaration of April 17, 1963, and described them as expressing the avowed aim of destroying Israel. If this were incorrect, it would have been quite simple for the Arab reply to deny it, and to put on record that the Arab states concerned had no intention of attacking Israel.
“The reply fails to do this, and its silence on this crucial question only confirms the view that the proposed federation has aggression against Israel as one of its objectives, and that it (the declaration) constitutes a violation of the United Nations Charter and a threat to the peace.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
