French Socialist leader, Francois Mitterand announced yesterday a three point Socialist approach to the Middle East which provides for Israel’s withdrawal from the administered territories only after the conclusion of peace. Mitterand, who returned from Israel on Sunday, had been at the center of controversy over his stand on the Middle East after he made a number of contradictory statements which he subsequently denied. Last night Mitterand adopted a relatively clear stand, explaining that his approach to Israel and the Mideast is based on a three-point platform:
Israel has an absolute right to exist and as such should have the means “and the territories” to preserve its security; Israel’s withdrawal from the territories should not be a pre-condition but “should follow the conclusion of an Arab-Israeli peace”; any solution must take into consideration “the Palestinian fact” and provide “a homeland for the two million Palestinians. Mitterand, who said that he plans to visit Egypt and Syria in the near future, stressed that in his view the Socialist principles also imply that Israel “must also make concessions.”
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