Foreign Minister Max Van Der Stoel yesterday presented Parliament with a memorandum outlining what he termed a balanced Dutch policy on the Middle East conflict. The memorandum called for safe and recognized borders for Israel and, at the same time, recognition of the legitimate political rights of the Palestinians.
Van Der Stoel warned the Arab nations, however, not to strain Dutch-Arab relations too much with ever-increasing demands if Holland is to maintain this balanced Mideast policy. He also added that they should not hinder European countries wanting to help resolve the Middle East conflict by taking economic and political measures against them. In this connection, he urged those Common Market countries hit by the Arab oil boycott to maintain their solidarity.
The Foreign Minister again rejected the idea that he had in the beginning been too pro-Israel during the Middle East war and reiterated that Holland had not supplied arms to Israel.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
