Israel lashed back today at the European Economic Community (EEC), denouncing as a “total distortion” the Middle East declaration issued by the heads of its 10 member states at their summit conference in Brussels Tuesday, (See related story from Bonn, P. 2.)
Israel also declared its “utter rejection” of the EEC call for a halt to settlement building on the West Bank in an official statement released here. The EEC leaders branded the settlements illegal and a “growing and major obstacle” to peace in the region. Israel re- torted that “the only obstacle to peace is the refusal of the Arab governments to conduct negotiations on the subject without preconditions.”
The EEC leaders called on Israel to “show that it stands ready for genuine negotiations.” The Israeli statement responded that this was a “total distortion … for Israel alone among all the parties to the conflict has incessantly demanded peace negotiations.”
The statement said it was “incomprehensible” how the EEC leader arrived at their assessment that the resolutions adopted by the Palestine National Council at its recent meeting in Algiers were a potential contribution to peace.
The Israeli statement accused the Europeans of “unrealism” and charged that they had “completely ignored the only stabilizing element in recent Middle East developments, the Camp David accords.”
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