Special to the JTA Herzog Denounces Phoney Story

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations. Chaim Herzog, said today that “the headlines and reports” that appeared in the Washington Post and the New York Post about his remarks in the Security Council yesterday were “misleading, inaccurate and tendentious.” The headlines and news accounts referred to a “clash” between Israel and the United States over a majority statement presented to the Security Council which deplored Israel’s occupation practices in the occupied Arab territories.

In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Herzog said: “The headlines and reports about my remarks in the Security Council on 26 May, 1976 in the Washington Post and New York Post are misleading, inaccurate and tendentious. At no point in my remarks did I even once mention the United States let alone ‘clash’ with the United States. In my remarks I addressed myself to the text of the statement of the majority presented to the Security Council by the President of the Security Council. Had my remarks been reported accurately it would have been perfectly evident that I dealt with each item in the statement of the majority which I rejected, namely:

“The situation in the territories administered by Israel; the one-sided proposal in respect of the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention; and the assertion in the statement that the establishment of security settlement by Israel in the West Bank is an obstacle to peace.

“We welcome the U.S. dissent from the statement and note the eloquent silence of the Western countries during the debate which I described as a futile and barren waste of time designed as it was to divert attention from the major issue of the Lebanon. I reiterated the government of Israel’s position that none of the issues raised, including the establishment of settlements, constitutes an obstacle to peace….The obstacle to peace lies in the refusal of the Arab states to negotiate peace with Israel.”