U.S. Expected to Veto Any Resolution Calling for Sanctions

The Security Council resumed debate today on Israel’s interception Friday of a Lebanese commercial airliner against a background of reports that the United States might veto any resolution calling for sanctions against Israel. American sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the United States is prepared to vote for a resolution condemning Israel for the interception, but that if any draft seeks to broaden the condemnation of Israel beyond the interception, or seeks sanctions against Israel, “some difficulties” would develop, affecting the U.S. vote.

The Council is expected to vote tomorrow on a Lebanese resolution which would have the Council condemn the government of Israel, ask the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to take appropriate action to insure the safety of international aviation, ask Israel to refrain from such acts in the future and issue a warning that such acts in the future would require effective UN action. Lebanon, late this afternoon, was seeking co-sponsorship for its resolution from at least eight of the 15 members of the Council.

The wording and thrust of the resolution was being worked on through the day as Arab and non-aligned nations sought to arrive at some agreement on formulations that would be strong enough to condemn Israel but would not incur a United States veto. The frenetic activity of the Arab and non-aligned nations created reports and counter-reports as to the actual wording of the proposed resolution. But one thing remained constant: Lebanon, which had called for the urgent session of the Council, seemed more restrained than Egypt and Iraq as the latter two opted for sanctions against Israel.

NO REFERENCE TO SANCTIONS

Another problem facing the Arab and non-aligned delegations was to determine whether or not the ICAO, which is a specialized UN agency, could be instructed by the Security Council to take any steps. The ICAO could theoretically take actions to expel Israel from that body. In June an ICAO committee issued a report on the downing of a Libyan airliner by Israeli jets last Feb. in which more than 100 persons were killed which absolved Israel. At a meeting of the ICAO in Montreal later, the organization condemned Israel for the Feb. 21 incident.

Speakers at today’s session agreed in criticizing Israel for the interception action but avoided any reference to sanctions. The representatives of Britain. France and the People’s Republic of China also made no reference to Arab terrorism which Israel has declared is the key to the problem, and to Israel’s means of dealing with it.

Sir Donald Maitland, the British representative, said that his government could not but “deeply deplore” the interception incident. He said Britain rejected any idea that any government was entitled “to take the law into its own hands and itself commit acts of violence totally inconsistent with international law.” In an apparent oblique reference to Arab terrorism, he said the issue must be seen against the background of the Middle East problem as a whole.

Jacques Lecompt, the French representative, called the interception an inadmissible violation of international laws governing civil aviation. Reminding the Council of the Israeli downing of a Libyan airliner over the Sinai last Feb. 21, he said the Council must condemn the interception of the Lebanese plane. He called the Israeli act the first example of a state hijacking a civilian plane and expressed the hope that the Council would act “urgently” in this “emergency.”

Huang Hua, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China said the Council must condemn “most severely” the Israeli “act of terrorism” and consider the adoption of effective measures to prevent such incidents. He called the Israeli action “another act of piracy” which threatened peace, but he did not ask for sanctions.