Foreign Minister Yigal Allon of Israel ended three days of talks with West German leaders here today. He told reporters he was “completely satisfied” with the results which, he said had “exceeded his highest expectations.” Allon said that Israel would like to return the visit paid to Jerusalem in 1973 by the then West German Chancellor Willy Brandt “at the same level.” That remark was seen as an indication that a possible visit to Germany by Premier Yitzhak Rabin is being planned although it was not discussed by Allon in his talks here. Bonn’s Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher is expected to visit Israel next fall.
On Middle East political matters, Allon predicted two states — Israel and Palestine–with negotiated frontiers. He cautioned against identifying that Palestinian community, which he said was “the most moderate element in the Arab world” with the Palestine Liberation Organization. He said he didn’t think any European country would recognize the PLO until it acknowledged Israel’s right to exist and terminated its terrorist activities.
Political observers here indicated that Allon’s visit, the first by an Israeli Foreign Minister since 1970, was satisfactory to both sides. They said the atmosphere had improved vastly since Palestinian terrorists massacred Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and Israel’s mistrust of Germany and other European states over the oil crisis and relations with the Arabs.
According to the observers, there seems to have been a high degree of political understanding between Allon and his German hosts. The latter expressed concern for Israel’s position in the Middle East conflict without abandoning its “balanced” Mideast policy. It is that policy, Bonn claims, that enables it to talk openly to both sides in the interests of peace and stability in the Middle East.
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.
