ARABS SEEK UNITY ON U.N. DRAFT

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32439, 28 October 1970, Page 17

ARABS SEEK UNITY ON U.N. DRAFT

(N Z PA.-Reuter—Copyright) NEW YORK, Oct. 27. The Arab delegations are struggling behind the scenes in New York to reach agreement on a draft resolution as the United Nations General Assembly debate on the Middle East moves into its second day.

Observers doubt, however, whether the Arab group of 14 nations will agree unanitijously on a draft, because the General Assembly is unlikely to accept anything going far beyond endorsement of the Security Council’s Middle East resolution of November, 1967. Among other tilings, that calls for a settlement based on an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories to secure the recognised boundaries, and for an end to belligerency in the area.

Several countries, including Algeria, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait and Southern Yemen, have expressed their opposition to that section of the Arab draft resolution endorsing the 1967 resolution.

The governments of these countries, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, have already rejected it. The Arab group delegations began their private discussion of the draft resolution—prepared on Egypt’s behalf by an African working group —after the Egyptian Foreign Minister (Mr Mahmoud Riad) had opened the debate yesterday

The main thrust of the draft, drawn up for submission to the General Assembly of 127 nations later this week is to call for the immediate resumption of Middle Fast peace talks under the United Nations special envoy (Dr Gunnar Jarring). Israel withdrew from these talks after only one day last August, in protest against alleged Egyptian violations of the United States-initiated cease-fire agreement. The Israeli Foreign Minister (Mr Abba Eban), who has come to New York to lead his Government’s delegation at the debate, told a press conference yesterday that the peace talks could resume once Egypt, had rectified alleged violations of the 90-day cease-fire that went into effect last August 8. The Arab draft resolution also states in its preamble: “Recognition of the inalien-

able rights of the Arab people of Palestine is a prerequisite to a just and and lasting peace in the Middle East."

Some Arab delegations are pressing for this to be brought into the operative part of the resolution.

‘Grave threat’ Opening the General Assembly debate, Mr Riad reaffirmed his country’s “absolute determination to liberate every inch of Arab territory occupied by Israel in the six-day war,” and he declared: “The General Assembly has never faced a more serious challenge to the principles of the United Nations Charter, nor a graver threat

to world peace, than that it faces today.” Mr Riad went on: “Egypt decided to bring the issue back to the Assembly because all efforts to make peace have remained fruitless. This is due to Israel’s insistence on expansion, on the one hand, and the support she receives from the United States on the other. ... It is Israel’s consistent policy to denounce the United Nation’s authority and will.

“. . . To justify her position, Israel has resorted to lies, by alleging that the United Arab Republic has violated the cease-fire arrangements.” Israeli charge In Tel Aviv yesterday the Israeli Army intelligence chief (Major-General Aharon Yariv) said that the Soviet Union and Egypt had used the Middle East cease-fire to construct one of the world’s most advanced anti-aircraft systems on the west bank of the Suez Canal.

In addition, the general said, the Egyptians had moved up to 250 artillery pieces into their 32-mile-wide standstill zone as part of a campaign to force Israel to accept a compromise Middle East settlement.

The Egyptian array, he said, included 500 to 600 anti-aircraft missiles, abopt one-third of them advanced SAM3S operated by Russian crews. There were, he added, another 50 to 60 non-opera-tional sites within the Egyptian standstill zone.