Israel was under attack from both the Eastern European Communist bloc and America’s Western European allies today for its invasion of Lebanon. The Soviet Union warned Israel that an attack on Syria could have “serious consequences.”
The ten European Economic Community (EEC) countries, all of which except Ireland are members of NATO, met in special session in Bonn last night to condemn the Israeli action. They hinted that they would consider economic sanctions against Israel if it did not withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
American sources in Bonn, where President Reagan is attending a conference of the 16 NATO member states, said the President had been in direct contact with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev but would not confirm that their talk dealt with the Middle East. West Germany’s Foreign Minister Hons-Dietrich Genscher reportedly warned that Western Europe’s ties with the Arab world would be irreparably damaged unless there was an immediate end to the fighting in Lebanon.
The Soviet press, radio and television attacks an Israel were the most vituperative. But all of Eastern Europe joined in denouncing Israel’s “aggression.” President Nicolae Ceausescu of Rumania, the only Communist bloc country that maintains diplomatic relations with Israel, vociferously attacked Israel’s “militaristic policy.” He was quoted by Rumania’s official Ager Press news agency as calling on Israel to accept an immediate cease-fire and pull its forces out of Lebanon at once.
ANTI-ISRAEL DEMONSTRATION IN PARIS
A mass demonstration was taking place in Paris this evening protesting Israeli “aggression” with the participation of the Communist Party and several major trade unions. Jewish organizations called for a counter-demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy.
Diplomatic sources said today that Greece and France favor the immediate imposition of sanctions against Israel. West Germany, Holland and Denmark proposed an interim period to give Israel a chance to comply with demands for a cease-fire and withdrawal.
Soviet attacks on Israel seemed intended to deter an attack on Syria which is Moscow’s last foothold in the Middle East. Syria and the USSR have a mutual assistance treaty providing for automatic Soviet support if Syria is attacked. The treaty does not cover attacks on Syrian forces in Lebanon which are there within the framework of an Arab League mandate.
NATO experts stressed however that despite the violence of its protests, Moscow seems unable and probably unwilling to extend any assistance to Syria. Some 20 Soviet and East European diplomats and their families left Beirut yesterday in a Turkish cargo ship bound for Iskenderun, Turkey. It was reportedly the last ship to sail from the beleaguered port.
The semi-official Egyptian daily Al Ahram reported today that President Hosni Mubarak has asked President Reagan to intervene in the Lebanese situation. Egyptian diplomats protested against the U.S. veto of a Security Council resolution Tuesday condemning Israel. They are said to have warned Reagan and Secretary of State Alexander Haig that the American veto seriously weakened the peace process in the Middle East. The Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, also appealed to Reagan when the two met in Bonn today to end the fighting in Lebanon.
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