The newly created Israeli-European Economic Community trade accord is under attack by the Arab world. Syrian Foreign Minister Abdul Halim Khaddam, speaking at a press conference here today, declared that the treaty will only serve to encourage Israeli obstinacy in her Middle East policy. Khaddam asked that the EEC suspend the accord or be prepared to pay compensation for the damages incurred by the Arab countries.
He warned the EEC nations that Israel’s “destructive and aggressive” policy will endanger European security, Khaddam concluded by demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied territories and that the non-Arab world grant full recognition to the natural rights of the Palestinian people.
West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, apparently unmoved by Khaddam’s warning, stressed that the accord conforms with the EEC’s balanced policy toward the Middle East. He indicated the fairness of the accord by pointing out that agreements have already been concluded between Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and negotiations are to begin shortly with Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
(Protesting views of the accord have also appeared in the Paris newspaper, France-Soir. In an article published May 9, an Algerian diplomat posted in Cairo, Belkacem Boudouy, declared that the agreement reflected EEC support for the Israeli occupation of Arab territories. The Paris evening paper, Le Monde, in an article concerning the Arab reaction to the Israel-EEC accord, speculated today as to the purpose of the strongly antagonistic Arab reaction. Do the Arabs hope to obtain advantages in the current negotiations between them and the European Economic Community or do they desire to maneuver the European Common Market into becoming their ally against Israel? Le Monde asked.)
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.
