A reported statement by Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat, that he is willing to accept United Nations resolutions recognizing Israel’s right to exist, was dismissed as “doublespeak” Thursday by Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Asked at a news conference to comment on the report, Ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu said he had not seen Arafat’s exact words. But the reports he did see said the PLO leader was prepared to accept all resolutions on the Middle East adopted by the United Nations, but not Resolutions 242 and 338, which stipulate the right of all countries in the region to exist within secure and recognized boundaries, Netanyahu said.
Most U.N. resolutions on the Middle East adopted over the years, in fact, “contradict” Resolutions 242 and 338 and call for the demise of the Jewish state, the Israeli envoy claimed.
He said Arafat is “talking from both sides of his mouth.”
Netanyahu also rejected out of hand a proposal made by the Soviet ambassador to the United Nations, Aleksandr Belonogov, at another news conference here Thursday. Betonogov said his country would support sending U.N. troops to the West Bank and Gaza Strip to maintain peace there.
“It is not acceptable to us,” Netanyahu said. “The U.N. does not intervene in internal security matters. Would great Britain agree that the U.N. would send troops to Northern Ireland to supervise the peace there?” the Israeli envoy asked.
He insisted that Israel is acting in accordance with international law in the measures it has been taking to restore calm in the administered territories.
Asked if Israel would continue to deport Palestinian troublemakers, Netanyahu replied, “That is a means we will continue to resort to.”
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.
