With the approval of Britain, France and the Soviet Union and the United States abstaining, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) last night adopted a resolution blaming Israel for the continued closure of the Suez Canal. The resolution, passed by a vote of 70-0 with 37 abstentions, was drafted by the “Third World” bloc of developing nations and reflected Arab influence in that bloc.
It affirmed full support for the Security Council’s Resolution 242 and declared that Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories was a pre-requisite to reopen the Suez Canal. Israel did not participate in the voting and the head of its delegation, Ambassador Gideon Rafael, accused UNCTAD of exceeding its area of competence by entering the field of political issues and, in effect, interpreting the Security Council’s resolution and distorting its meaning.
Rafael pointed out that there is nothing in Resolution 242 that says Israel’s withdrawal is pre-requisite for reopening the canal. He criticized the resolution’s paragraphs dealing with the Suez Canal as “controversial, one-sided, partial, inaccurate political references.” Passage of the resolution followed two weeks of debate during which Israel urged UNCTAD to avoid becoming mired in political issues.
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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.
