Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir warned the West European countries today that they could not profess friendship for Israel and at the some time express support for the Palestine Liberation Organization and the creation of a Palestinian state. In his first speech in the Knesset since he became Foreign Minister a week ago, Shamir spoke in reply to four agenda motions which expressed concern over recent statements by West European governments, particularly West Germany and France, and Austria’s extension of recognition to a PLO official in Vienna.
Shamir said that these countries which considered themselves friendly toward Israel were about to join the chair against Israel and aid those who want to end Israel’s existence. “Europe should reexamine its policies and realize that such statements endanger peace,” he said. He urged the Europeans to support the Camp David accords and to assist moderate forces in the Middle East.
According to Shamir, European support for the Palestinian cause was linked to Arab oil. He said that Israel had to improve its information campaign abroad to convince the world to support the peacemaking process and reject such groups as the PLO which want to destroy the Camp David accords. He praised the efforts of Jewish communities in West Europe in that connection. Last Sunday in London representatives of the largest Jewish communities of West Europe held a meeting in which they appealed to their governments and to the European Economic Community not to interfere in the Arab-Israel peace process and expressed grave concern at the growing support for the PLO.
Former Foreign Minister Abba Eban at the opposition Labor Party, also accused the West European nations of “prejudicing the peace process” and “preferring their own particular interests to the general international welfare.” But he blamed the Israeli government in part for the deterioration and urged it to suspend “those things which are provocative and superfluous.” He suggested a freeze on settlements in the occupied territories for the next three months.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
