Squadron Charges U.S. Creates ‘friction’ by Calling West Bank Settlements ‘ Illegal’

Howard M. Squadron, president of the American Jewish Congress, criticized the State Department tonight for insisting that Israel’s West Bank settlements were “illegal,” and said Washington’s position “creates an unnecessary cause of friction between the United States and Israel.” Squadron told a national conference of the organization’s Women’s Division in the Roosevelt Hotel here that “It is not illegal as a matter of international law for Jews to settle on the West Bank and it is unfortunate that the State Department continues to argue that it is.”

He also said it was “counterproductive to continue to urge participation in the autonomy discussions by Jordan, Saudi Arabia and resident Palestinians.” He predicted that Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the West Bank Palestinians would not participate in discussions over Prime Minister Begin’s autonomy plan for another four years, despite an open invitation to join the talks at any time. “Whatever autonomy configuration results will only be criticized by the rest of the Arab world because it will not resolve ultimate questions of West Bank sovereignty and the status of Jerusalem,” the AJ Congress leader said, adding: “Israel is the only one of the three negotiating partners that has a tangible stake in the territory itself. Neither Egypt nor the United States has a direct interest in the West Bank. Israel’s security needs must be paramount in any discussion concerning the West Bank.”