West German Government Seems Divided over Mideast Situation

The new West German government appears to be sharply divided over policy toward the Middle East conflict. While some senior officials, including Chancellor Helmut Kohl, are trying to improve relations with Israel, others, chiefly Deputy Foreign Minister Juergen Moellemann, remain committed to the pro-Arab positions of former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.

Moellemann recently blasted Israel in an interview with the German News Service. He warned the Israeli government not to entertain any “illusions” about Bonn’s attitude despite Kohl’s announcement that he intends to visit Israel sometime next year and friendly remarks by Deputy Foreign Minister Alois Mertes.

According to Moellemann, West German policy is still based on the 1980 Venice declaration by the leaders of the 10 European Economic Community (EEC) member states which, among other things, called for the “association” of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the Mideast peace process.

Moellemann, who is chairman of the German-Arab Friendship Association denounced Premier Menachem Begin as a war criminal a month ago, before he was named Deputy Foreign Minister. He urged an end to financial assistance to Israel, recognition of the PLO, despite its documented relationship with West German urban guerrillas and insisted that Bonn invite Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi, an implacable enemy of Israel, for an official visit.

In response to Moellemann’s most recent remarks, the Israeli Ambassador in Bonn, Yitzhak Ben Ari, warned that any new attempts to appease the PLO would result in violence and bloodshed in the Middle East and elsewhere. In an interview published in the Nord Rhein Zeitung, the envoy observed that if West Germany had treated refugees from East Germany the way the Arab countries treated their Palestinian brethren, there would be no peace or stability in Europe today.