Helmut Schaefer, the foreign policy spokesman of the Epee Democratic Party’s parliamentary faction said today that it should be made clear to the Arabs that the fate of the Palestinians is as important to Germans as the fate of Israel. In a statement on his return from a visit to several Arab countries, Schaefer strongly supported an official dialogue between the Federal Republic and the Palestinians.
The Free Democrats are part of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt’s coalition government. Its chairman is Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher who is also Vice Chancellor. Schaefer was critical of Israel’s settlement policy in the occupied Arab territories. With respect to Israel’s relations with the Palestinians, he said “There are injustices which we cannot accept any more.”
A delegation of the three parliamentary groups in the Bundestag plans to visit Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters in Beirut next month for talks with PLO chief Yasir Arafat and other PLO leaders. The parties are the Christian Democrats, the Social Democrats and the Free Democrats.
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