The Kingdom of Jordan told the United Nations General Assembly today that no peace would be possible with Israel until “Israel withdraws from our land.” Foreign Minister Muhammed El-Amiry said that Jordan wanted peace but Israeli withdrawal from the Jordanian-held territory it had occupied in the Six-Day War was a prerequisite condition.
The Jordanian spokesman insisted that the resolutions adopted by the Arab summit conference at Khartoum had represented “a positive attitude” which he said should have the international community’s support. Failing that, he warned, the Arab peoples will “draw the lesson of extremism and defiance.”
The Jordanian foreign minister made a slashing attack on Israel, charging it with pursuing a policy of territorial aggrandizement and of seeking “a peace through conquest, reminiscent of Nazi offers of peace in Eastern Europe following each act of criminal and military expansion.” He denounced the “hideous irony” that “Israel should have proved so apt a pupil of Nazi methods, learning not only the sneak attack known as ‘blitzkrieg’ but the application of the Nazis’ ‘final solution’ and methods of persecution in order to drive out innocent Arab populations from their homes and lands, and replacing them with Jewish immigrants.”
The Jordanian attack on Israel was echoed by Bulgaria. Ivan Bashev, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister, told the Assembly that “the consequences of Israeli aggression” must be eliminated. He charged that “Israel is not aiming at a peaceful settlement but is prepared to perpetuate the present situation.”
The Iranian spokesman urged Israeli withdrawal as “an essential step” to a peaceful solution. The representative of Burma said that territorial changes achieved by force could not be recognized.
A spokesman for the Israeli delegation said tonight that “the violent and aggressive statement by the Jordanian representative strengthens Israel’s resolve to place her security above every other consideration.” He termed the statement “the statement of a defeated and unrepentant aggressor” and asserted that “Jordan is exclusively responsible for all the loss and suffering incurred by the war that she launched. It is appalling to find her discussing the problem in such total lack of humility and self-criticism.”
Foreign Minister Abba S. Eban of Israel today gave a luncheon for 55 foreign ministers and heads of delegations at the U.N. headquarters. Yesterday he met with the foreign ministers of Holland, Senegal, and Dahomey, and this morning he met with the foreign ministers of Chile, Austria and Uganda. Mr. Eban also called on the president of the General Assembly, Corneliu Manescu of Panama.
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