The Palestinian terrorist attack against and El Al plane at Orly Airport Sunday has not only shocked, terrorized and dismayed France but it has shattered to pieces West Europe’s former illusions that it can buy its territorial security by backing the Arab cause.
Practically the entire West European press stressed that the terrorists struck twice in less than a week in the capital of that very state which is in the forefront of the pro-Arab camp in the Western world, In Italy, west Germany and Holland, editorial writers and politicians noted that the terrorists were not held back by rational political considerations. If any thing, they were egged on by the relative impunity which they seemed to enjoy.
The terrorist attack at Orly Airport combined with recent statements by Arab leaders saying that they cannot guarantee a free flow of oil to Western Europe in the case of renewed warfare in the Middle East, may mark a turning point in European-Arab relations.
A senator French official told this correspondent today, “We shall have to re-examine the entire issue of our relations with the Arab world.” The official said “this is not a matter of immediate decision which can be considered at a Cabinet session but of a long period of thought and meditation by all concerned. We shall have to find out what are the real intentions of the Arab world, and of the oil-producing countries, as far as we are concerned.”
Other officials report that French President Valery Giscard D’Estaing, who has advocated a policy of rapprochement with the Arab world, was personally “hurt” by the attack, though officials explain that was “an act by extremist elements” and not the result of a rational Arab decision.
FOREIGN MINISTER UNDER FIRE
Certain political circles now recall that the most spectacular French gesture towards the Arabs, Foreign Minister Jean Sauvagnargues’ handshake with PLO leader Yasir Arafat, was carried out without prior consultations with Giscard D’Estaing.
Already last November, Giscard D’Estaing deplored the handshake during a private briefing with a number of correspondents, Since Sunday’s Orly attack, Elysee circles are still more outspoken in the criticisms of Sauvagnargues’ pro-Arab policy, Certain political circles go as far as to suggest that the Minister might be dropped from the Cabinet at the next government reshuffle expected to take place in a few months.
France’s disillusionment does not mean that it will veer from its current course, Elysee and Qual D’Orsay officials with whom this correspondent met today stressed that “we have no other options open to us” to try and ensure France’s oil supply for the coming years, They said, however, that France, as a result of the recent attacks, will probably bargain, harder for its support. Other West European countries seem inclined to follow France’s example: drive harder bargains with the Arabs for their political support.
RECONSIDERATION BY EEC SEEN
Diplomats in Paris believe that this issue will come up for informal discussion when the foreign ministers of the nine European Economic community national meet later this month in Brussels, Even such pro-Arab states as Italy and Ireland need reportedly support a renewed reconsideration by the EEC of their relations with the Arab states.
France’s European partners also hope that Giscard D’Estaing will raise this issue with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat when the two will meet this month in Paris. Sadat is expected to arrive here Jan, 27 for a three-day state visit. The diplomats hope, and French officials believed, that Giscard D’Estaing will ask for a quid-pro-quo basis for future Arab-European ties.
Western Europe will supply its political support and influence only as against definite Arab commitments to respect its territory and ensure its oil supplies even if a new embargo should be decreed.
The Arab states and even the PLO are reportedly aware of the new European mood. PLO representative in France, Ezzedine Kallak, last night promised again that the Orly commando group “will be judged and severely punished” if and when the PLO will be able to detain them. The Egyptian Ambassador to France, Naguib Kadry, played an active role during negotiations for the release of the 10 hostages the terrorists held. All these attempts to “smooth the pill” do not seem to have made any impact, however, The Orly attack has marked a turning point in European-Arab relations.
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.
