The Netherlands government will not support a change in the wording of UN Security Council Resolution 242 to modify the clause dealing with the “just settlement of the refugee problem,” as has been demanded by the Arabs. This was stated by Foreign Minister Max van der Stoel to the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. He added, however, that Holland will support Security Council members stating orally that the Palestinian problem is more than a refugee issue.
This is in line with the attitude the government has taken for several years, namely, that the Palestinian issue is also a political problem. The Dutch favor a Palestinian entity which would later decide on whether it wants to join a Jordanian federation or be independent. The Dutch do not want to anger Israel on the Palestinian problem, but, at the same time, want to reassure the Palestine “Liberation Organization that their case is not forgotten as a political issue.
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