Arab hard-liners to consider oil boycott to squeeze Israel

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 8

Arab hard-liners to consider oil boycott to squeeze Israel

NZPA-Reuter

Tripoli

Arab hard-liners opposed to Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel have decided to set up three committees to co-ordinate joint military and economic action, and increase their flow of information against a United Statessponsored Middle East settlement.

The Libyan Foreign Secre- ( tary (Mr Ali Abdel-Salam Tureiki) announced the crea-l Ition of the three councils at the end of the second day of summit talks between five Arab leaders in Tripoli. He told reporters that the] heads of Syria, Libya, Al-( geria, South Yemen, and the Palestine Liberation Organ-, isation who are grouped in! the “Steadfastness and Con-1 frontation " Front”, would! tneet again today before is-' tuing a final communique. p Conference sources said!;

i the move amounted to the I I establishment of a perlmanent secretariat for the front. J' The five leaders also dis-'l cussed plans for an oil em- i bargo against the United ; (States and ways of tight-p ■ening the economic boycott i of Egypt by other Arab < .States, according to the sources, who gave no < (details. l Earlier, a Libyan spokes-1 < man said the Libyan leader, ‘ i Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, i* land the Algerian President 11

(Mr Chadli Benjedid) had agreed in principle to impose an oil and gas sales (ban on countries that actively supported Israel. i Asked if the ban would be put into effect, Mr Tureiki (said: “We must use all means to combat the Zionist enemy.” The creation of a military council appeared to go some (way towards responding to Syria’s demand for much closer military co-operation between front members. |