Costa Rican Diplomat Says His Country Will Not Tolerate Arab Resolutions in UN

Costa Rica, the strongest supporter among Latin American nations for Israel’s views on means for a lasting peace, will work actively against any Arab-sponsored resolution in the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly, Gonzalo Facio, Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister, told newsmen here today. He spoke at the close of a week-long visit to Israel which took him from Sharm el-Sheikh to the Golan Heights. He also said that Jerusalem must remain united under Jewish rule, contending that internationalization was not a solution and that a new division of Jerusalem was “an absurdity.” He said also that Sharm el-Sheik, which controls the Tiran Strait and access for Israel to the Red Sea, must remain under effective Israeli control.

Facio added it “cannot be permitted” that the Tiran Strait could again be suddenly closed to Israeli shipping by anyone, “as happened in the past.” The decision of then Egyptian President Nasser to close the Strait in May, 1967, is generally held to have been a precipitating factor in the Six-Day War. The Costa Rican diplomat declared that the Golan Heights, with its “commanding position” over Jewish settlements in the Huleh and Jordan Valleys, could not be relinquished. Facio added that “Israel will probably exist forever and it must be given the full protection it needs.” He remarked that the President of Costa Rica had appeared at Israel Bond sales functions in the United States to show his favorable feeling toward Israel. He said another reason for Costa Rica’s strongly pro-Israel stand was the “large and respected” Costa Rican Jewish community which, he said, has been able to present Israel’s case well.