Israeli officials and diplomats are focusing their sights on the conference of non-aligned countries which is scheduled to open in Colombo Aug. 16 to see what sort of moves the Arabs will take there in their continuing efforts to win support for their drive to oust Israel from the United Nations. The general feeling among political circles here is that the Arab bloc will fail in this bid.
At the same time, political circles pointed out that Egypt will most likely present itself as the radical spokesman for the Arab world and mount a militant attack against Israel in support of her ouster from the UN. Should this happen, Israeli circles note it will constitute a violation of the spirit of the second interim Sinai accord in which Egypt agreed to refrain from engaging in hostile propaganda against Israel.
The Arab bloc is also expected to demand action on the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the. Palestinian People (“Committee of 20”) calling for the creation of a Palestinian state under the rule of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories by June 1977. This recommendation was presented to the Security Council for adoption in June but the U.S. vetoed it.
As a result, political circles here expect that the Arab bloc will seek support for this recommendation at the non-aligned conference in order to put some pressure on the General Assembly when it convenes next month. The “Question of Palestine” is one of the top issues to be discussed at the Assembly.
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