— Israel called on the General Assembly today to address itself seriously to the situation in the Middle East in its full and proper sense,” rather than concentrating an the Israeli-Arab conflict alone.
The call was made by Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Yehuda Blum in remarks prepared for delivery this evening at the opening session of the Assembly’s annual debate on the “Situation in the Middle East.” Noting that “In accordance with prescribed ritual, attempts will be made to turn it (the Mideast debate) into another orchestrated attack on Israel,” Blum said that the Mideast includes the war in the Persion Gulf, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the dispute between Jordan and Syria, among other conflicts.
“These trouble spots, with grave implications for international peace, should certainly give rise for concern on the part of the General Assembly and must have a prominent place in any serious discussion of the situation in the Mideast,” Blum declared.
In line with his call to the Assembly, Blum, in his 16-page speech, discussed the various conflicts and trouble spots in the Mideast. The debate on the Mideast is expected to last until the end of this week.
Meanwhile, the Assembly was scheduled to vote tomorrow on a few draft resolutions concerning Palestinian rights. Israel, in anticipation of tomorrow’s votes issued a statement here today charging that those resolutions “are yet another attempt to dictate, through the General Assembly, a one-sided and impractical approach with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict.” According to the Israeli statement, one of the draft resolutions contains “new elements” which are particularly unacceptable.
The new elements, as cited by Israel, are repudiation of Security Council Resolution 242, a call for the establishment in advance of negotiations of a Palestinian “independent sovereign state,” and a request that the Security Council impose sanctions on Israel.
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