Arab Move to Oust Israel from UN Will Depend on Mideast Developments This Summer, Israelis Say

Israeli diplomats at the United Nations, although aware that the Arab and Third World countries will initiate a move to suspend Israel from participating in the General Assembly in September, say that it is too early to determine whether the Arabs and their allies will make such a move. “It all depends on what happens in the next few months in the Middle East itself,” a member of the Israeli delegation told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

According to the diplomat, if there is progress in the Mideast in the months ahead the Arabs are not likely to press for Israel’s ouster from the Assembly, a move that would jeopardize any concessions they might gain from the Israelis. “If there will be a stagnation in the area, I believe that the Arabs will not hesitate to take such an extreme move as calling for the suspension of Israel from the General Assembly deliberations with all the dire consequences to the world organization,” he said.

Another Israeli diplomat here said privately that everybody is talking about what the Arabs are going to do at the 30th General Assembly “while the Arabs themselves probably did not reach a decision whether to press for Israel’s suspension.”

The Arabs made their position known this week when they said that Israel’s moves in coming months would determine the actions in the Assembly in September, Arab diplomats at the UN say Privately that no decision has been reached yet on the issue and, as the Israelis claim, they insist that their actions will be based on the political developments in the Middle East. Syria, which appears to be leading the drive to oust Israel, did not participate in this week’s Arab League lunch in New York where Arab delegates expressed their views on the issue.