As the acrimonious debate on Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights continued today in the General Assembly, the non-aligned states here circulated a draft resolution calling for the imposition of sanctions against Israel. The draft resolution will be submitted to the Assembly tomorrow and a vote is expected to take place Friday.
The draft resolution calls on all member states to refrain from military and economic aid to Israel and demands that all countries sever their diplomatic ties with the Jewish State for its annexation of the Golan December 14. According to sources here, the draft might yet be changed to include a call for the suspension of Israel from the UN.
Ambassador Masahino Nisibori of Japan, addressing the Assembly today, called on Israel to rescind its newly applied measures in the Golan and to refrain from taking similar “illegal acts” in the future. He said Japan condemned the Israeli move regarding the Golan as it condemned the “annexation” of East Jerusalem in July, 1980. This was a reference to the Jerusalem Law which declared that united Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
The Japanese envoy said his country supports a comprehensive Mideast peace based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The Israeli action on the Golan, he charged, did not help efforts to reach peace in the Mideast.
EEC CONDEMNS ISRAEL’S GOLAN ACTION
Meanwhile, Israel’s Golan action and its Jerusalem Law were condemned at yesterday’s Assembly session by the European Economic Community (EEC). The 10-member EEC nations also said that it regards both actions as “null and void without juridical effect on the international level.”
Ambassador Edmonde Dever of Belgium said that the EEC members “warn the government of Israel about the consequences of these measures … These arbitrary procedures, because of their provocative nature, seriously jeopardize the chances of finding a peaceful settlement in the Near East.”
She said the EEC was again urgently appealing to Israel to reverse its actions and to refrain from placing obstacles on the path to a comprehensive peace settlement. The Ambassador said such a settlement must be found within the context of respect for the legitimate rights of all states and all peoples of the region.
Ambassador Liang Yufan of the People’s Republic of China called on the Assembly to declare Israel’s Golan move null and void, impose sanctions, call on Israel to withdraw from all territories taken since the Six-Day War, and restore the national rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to establish their own state.
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.
