Israel’s attack on Iraq’s nuclear reactor June 7 will be exploited by the Arabs to condemn Israel once again during the 36th session of the United Nattions General Assembly which is scheduled to open Sept. 15, according to diplomats here. Iraq, which the diplomats said was deeply humiliated by the swift Israeli operation, has already requested the inclusion of an item on the Assembly agenda dealing with Israel’s attack on its reactor.
The Arabs, the diplomats added, will demand in addition to a condemnation of Israel, that Israel’s nuclear facility in the Negev desert be open to international inspection.
After the June 7 raid, Israel was condemned by the Security Council which also called on Israel to open its nuclear facility to international inspection. By reviving the issue at the General Assembly, the diplomats explained, the Arabs hope to continue to capitalize on the favorable world public opinion they generally received after the Israeli raid and also draw attention to what they claim is an “Israeli nuclear monopoly” in the Mideast.
Apart from the nuclear issue, the Arabs are expected to continue with their “traditonal” anti-Israeli offensive during the session. Diplomats here suggest that while the Arab offensive against Israel in the last two General Assembly sessions, the 34th and the 35th, had partly failed due to other events in the Mideast, this will not be the case this year.
WILL TRY TO ISOLATE ISRAEL
The seizure of the American Embassy in Iran and the holding of the American hostages by Moslem militants there in 1979, and the Iranian-Iraqi war in 1980 both overshadowed the Arab-Israeli conflict for a while and drew attention away from Arab moves against Israel at the UN, the diplomats pointed out. They also noted that the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty in 1979 and the Iranian-Iraqi war the following year confused the Arab countries and divided them to an extent that stymied any attempt to form a concerted UN strategy against Israel.
This year, however, there are no major crises to divide Arab efforts against Israel, the diplomats said. Therefore, when the debate on the Mideast, the Palestinians or Israel’s practice in the occupied territories come before the Assembly and its committees, anti-Israeli resolutions will be supported by the majority of the UN membership, leaving Israel alone, protected only by its powerful friend the United States.
Among the issues the Arabs are expected to raise against Israel this year are Israel’s relations with South Africa and Israel’s plan to construct a canal between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. The UN also will celebrate Palestinian Day on Nov. 29 with exhibitions, lectures, and other events to mark “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.”
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.
