The Palestinians received a pat on the head Monday from the European Community, but got no recognition of the independent state proclaimed Nov. 15 by Yasir Arafat at the meeting of the Palestine National Council in Algiers.
The anxiously awaited communique of the 12 European foreign ministers who convened here Monday praised “the Palestinian acceptance of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 as a basis for an international peace conference.”
That, according to the communique, implies that the Palestinians accept the right of “all states in the region, including Israel,” to exist within secure borders.
The statement also reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination “with all that this implies” without elaborating.
Observers here characterized the communique as “timid” and “cautious.”
Its general formulations and stilted language indicated that European Community nations, such as Greece, that seemed on the verge of recognizing an independent Palestine, were restrained by their more circumspect partners.
FIGHT OVER PARTITION RESOLUTION
In any event, no substantive recommendations seem to have been formulated to submit to the E.C. chiefs of state and heads of government, who are scheduled to gather Dec. 2 and 3 at Rhodes, Greece, for their next summit meeting.
For the time being, the 12 foreign ministers were satisfied by what they called the PNC’s explicit condemnation of terrorism. They urged all concerned parties to “seize this occasion and contribute positively to the peace process.”
The 12-nation body reiterated its call for an international peace conference under United Nations sponsorship, “which is the appropriate framework for the necessary negotiations between the parties directly interested.”
But the ministers failed to say who should represent the Palestinians at such a conference.
According to diplomatic sources here, Spain, France, Italy and Greece wanted to include in the communique reference to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 of Nov. 29, 1947. No longer recognized by Israel, it called for the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.
GREECE MAY RECOGNIZE ISRAEL
Holland, Britain and Denmark reportedly opposed the reference.
The Arabs have only just accepted 181, some four decades too late. The Israelis claim it was nullified by the Arab invasion of May 15, 1948, the day after Israel proclaimed its independence.
Greek sources said Athens “for the moment” would not recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed in Algiers.
Greece is the only E.C. country that does not have full diplomatic relations with Israel. Reports this past week said that the Greeks would announce recognition of the Palestinian state and simultaneously extend de jure recognition to Israel.
Apparently that scenario will not materialize for the present. The issue is still open, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said.
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