West German leaders in both the government and opposition parties appeared to be in agreement on a Middle East policy favorable to the Palestinian cause and recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization as a participant in the peace process.
In a debate broadcast last Friday on the German Radio network, Foreign Minister Hans-Dictrich Genacher reiterated his support for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. He maintained that its implementation within the framework of a Middle East peace settlement might restore Arab unity which is a major aim of Bonn’s policy in that region.
Former Chancellor Willy Brandt, chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party, contended that a considerable portion of the PLO’s leadership would be favorable to a solution based on United Nations’ Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 which would enable both Palestinians and Israelis to live within secure boundaries in their respective states. Brandt met with PLO chief Yasir Arafat in Vienna last year, a move widely interpreted as a major shift in West Germany’s Middle East position and bitterly denounced by Israel.
Another participant in the debate, former Foreign Minister Gerhard Schroeder of the opposition Christian Democratic Union, observed that any lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict must offer the Palestinians the opportunity to create a state like entity. According to Schroeder, Israel should rely for its security on Big Power guarantees and demilitarized zones.
Schroeder, who met with Arafat five years ago — the first German political leader to do so — said he doubted that the Palestinian issue could be resolved without the participation of the PLO. He said that would test the responsibility of the Israeli government. Meanwhile, Bonn continues to seek public support for the upcoming diplomatic initiative by the European Economic Community (EEC) member states to bring the PLO into future peace efforts in the region.
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