An aggressive Arab rebuff of the American Democratic Party’s platform’s pledge to support Israeli territorial integrity was voiced today in Cairo, at the opening of a 13-nation Arab Foreign Ministers meeting, according to dispatches received here from the Egyptian capital. The Arab Foreign Ministers also issued a joint, open call for concerted Arab action to liberate Arab lands “from imperialism and Zionism.”
Foreign Ministers from all Arab League states attended the sessions, which set the stage for the second Arab summit meeting, starting next weekend in Alexandria. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad, in a keynote address, said the “positive results of the first summit (held last January), and the steps already taken since, encourage us to continue our determined and intensified efforts to crush Zionist imperialism which is presently seeking to usurp Arab (Jordan River) water, after having usurped Arab Palestine. The liberation of Arab lands from imperialism, which is still present in some parts of the Arab world, and of foreign domination and exploitation, requires our cooperation.”
Arab League secretary General Abdel Khalek Hassouna said in a speech that the aim is to “liberate our homeland from imperialism and Zionism, which are transgressing the unity and progress of our nation.”
Ahmed Shukairy, former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United Nations, head of a so-called “Palestine Arab Delegation,” and now chairman of the Arab League-sponsored “Palestine Liberation Movement,” arrived in Cairo today with a 15-point program for “the final liquidation of Israel.” He said his movement’s executive committee adopted the plan at a meeting in Jordanian-held Jerusalem last week.
“This time,” he declared, “the liberation movement is to work in all seriousness.” He boasted that not only have “Palestine troops” been lined up but “the financial requirements” have also been arranged. He presented his plan to the Foreign Ministers and promised that the “Israel liquidation” program will be discussed in full at the summit meeting in Alexandria.
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