Israel is expected to charge that Egypt is sabotaging Middle East peace prospects when the United Nations General Assembly begins Its annual debate tomorrow on the Middle East, informed sources said here today. Israel’s charges and reaffirmation of its own willingness to negotiate will be presented at the debate by UN Ambassador Yosef Tekoah. Foreign Minister Abba Eban has already announced that he will not attend the General Assembly debate because he feels the proceedings will be sterile and repetitive of previous debates.
According to sources here, Tekoah Is expected to indict Egypt on three counts: Its refusal to enter Into negotiations; its provocative proposals at international forums; and Its support of terrorists. Tekoah is also expected to stress that Israel Is ready for negotiations as evidenced by its willingness to enter Into proximity talks with Egypt for a partial settlement to reopen the Suez Canal and by Its repeated pronouncements that it has no ultimatums and does not intend to maintain the present cease-fire lines indefinitely.
DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS ONLY USEFUL COURSE
The Israeli ambassador Is scheduled to address the Assembly tomorrow morning, following the address by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed el-Zayyat. Sources here said Tekoah would argue that Israel’s refusal to accept Egyptian pre-conditions for negotiations should be self-evident. He Is expected to tell the Assembly that its only useful course would be to call on both sides to enter into direct negotiations.
Israeli officials did not appear to be disturbed by Egypt’s efforts to Initiate a General Assembly resolution calling for sanctions. They expressed the view that Egypt has little chance of winning the support of the Western and Latin American powers and without such support, especially from the U.S., a resolution to apply sanctions against Israel was meaningless. One source said the Egyptian moves represented a maximum bargaining position and that Cairo would settle for a less extreme though still sufficiently anti-Israel resolution.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
