Saudi Arabia, considered by many diplomats here and in Washington as America’s firmest ally among the Arab states, presented to the General Assembly today a three-point plan for “solution” of Arab-Israel tensions. The Saudi Arabian Government suggested:
1. Establishment of a special United Nations agency to send all the Jews from Israel “back to their homelands in Europe and elsewhere. “
2. Outlawing Zionism “anywhere and everywhere. “
3. Rejecting all thought of resettling Arab refugees and, instead, sending all of them back into Israel.
The Saudi Arabian Government also expressed its strongest support of Syria, absolved Syria from any blame for accepting arms shipments from the Soviet Union. It also denounced Israel’s use of the Gulf of Akaba, and concluded its statement to the Assembly by declaring flatly: “To the Jews as a nation we grant nothing. “
The first policy speech in this year’s Assembly by any of the Arab governments, the address came as a great shock to many delegations here. The speech was delivered by Ahmad Shukairy, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for United Nations Affairs, who is well known here for many vitriolic speeches against Israel delivered when he was representing Syria in the United Nations.
On the issue of “the Palestine problem, ” Mr. Shukairy declared,”we have a radical approach to place before the Assembly. ” He asked the 82-member body to “strike at, not around the bush. ” Calling the Palestine question “the center of gravity in the whole situation in the Middle East, Mr. Shukairy said there is only one answer to the question as to what is wrong in the whole situation. That answer, he went on, is “Israel is the wrong. “
The only thing the United Nations must do is to “reverse” everything it has done in the past years in connection with Israel, he said. “Zionism,” Mr. Shukairy continued, “is an aggressive movement. It is destructive for it destroys the loyalty of Jewish citizens to their homelands. It is expansionist for it engineers to establish ‘Great Israel’ between the Nile and the Euphrates.
“To avoid a great catastrophe, the United Nations must reverse the course of action that has brought about this dilemma. To accept the de facto situation, is resignation and surrender on the part of the United Nations. A de facto situation that breathes a threat to peace must be brushed aside. It is with this idea in mind that the United Nations must shoot its way through new avenues. ” Mr. Shukairy then outlined his three-point program.
A spokesman for the Israel delegation said, in comment on Mr. Shukairy’s address: “The Assembly today witnessed the shocking performance of a delegate of a member state addressing the Assembly and asking formally for the liquidation of another sovereign member of the United Nations. “
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.
