Foreign Minister Abba Eban of Israel sharply criticized France for providing Mirage jets to Libya which he accused of being the center of Arab terrorism and “the least civilized country on earth.” Eban, who is on an official visit to Austria, was quoted yesterday in the Vienna daily, “Kurier,” as saying that it was in Libya “that the Munich, Lod and Khartoum massacre were planned.”
Referring to the 110 Mirage jets that France contracted a year ago to deliver to Libya, Eban said, “We don’t like discriminatory embargoes of this kind,” the “Kurier” reported. He was referring to the continuing French embargo on military supplies to the Middle East states which includes Israel but not Libya on grounds that that country was not a belligerent in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Foreign Minister Khall Abouhamad of Libya replied to Eban in an interview published today in the Paris daily, “Le Monde.” Asserting that “Israel is the country least qualified to set up criteria of civilization,” the-Libyan claimed that “terrorism was introduced into the Middle East by the Zionist movement itself.” He said, “Hagana; Irgun and Stern, whose members now hold important government posts (in Israel) were the pioneers of terrorism in the Middle East.”
According to the “Kurier” interview, Eban said he did not expect any “spectacular changes” in French Middle East policy as a result of France’s parliamentary elections in which the Gaullist majority retained power. He said Israel was open to a “continuing dialogue” with Paris.
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