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around the region on fact-find ing
missions.
Austrian Chancellor Bruno
Kreisky traveled to Cairo for four
days of talks with Mr. Sadat soon
after the Egyptian P resident
returncd from his European dip–
lomatic blitz. Chancellor Kreis–
ky- lhe fi rst Western head of
stale lo meet openly with PLO
chairman Yassir Arafal- visited
Egypt as part of a Mideast fact–
finding trip for t he Socialist
lnternational.
Mr. Kreisky, who continues to
push for PLO participation in the
Egyptian- l sraeli talks, . agreed
with Mr. Sadat that Palestinian
autonomy negotiations should be
held off until a new Israel í gov–
ernment is formed after the June
30 elections. Mr. Kreisky also
supported the prospect of a more .
active role for Western Europe in
promoting M ideasl peace.
Soon after lhe Kreisky meet–
ing, Wcsl German Foreign Min–
ister H ans- Dietrich Genscher
called on President Sadat in Caí–
ro. Mr. Genscher urged t hat "all
parties involvcd in the Middle
Easl confl icl recognize each other
as negotiali ng partners."
In meeting with other Egyp–
lian leadcrs, Mr. Genscher re–
slated Bonn 's and lhe European
Community's posilion that a last–
ing Mideasl pcace settlement
"must provide for self-determi na–
tion by t he Palestinian people and
the righl of all stales in the
region, including Israel, to exist
within secure boundaries."
Other impor t a nt visitors to
the Middle East in the past six
months included Dutch Foreign
Minister and EEC President
Chris toph van der Klaauw and
forme r British Prime Minis ter
Edward Heath. Mr . Heath, in a
meeting wilh Presidenl Sadat,
advocaled European par ticipalion
in cfforts lo settle the 33-year–
old Arab-lsraeli conflict in a rder
lo hal t a growi ng Soviet pres–
ence in lhe arca and to achieve
greater security of oil supplies to
the West.
PLO, lsraell Reactions
Meanwhilc, the two parties most
directly involved- lsrael and the
44
Palestin ians- have been busily
studying the European propos–
als.
Israel's leaders have given the
EEC ínitiative a cool rcccption.
The view from the Knesset is lhat
a European role would almost
certainly undermine lhe Camp
David peace process.
Israelí Labor Leader Shimon
Peres has been quoted as saying
that the European initiative "is
widening the gap between us and
the Arabs, not bridgi ng it."
Prime Mi nis ter Begin has called
the Middle East policy of the
European nat ions "abso lutcly
negative."
The Palestine Liberat ion Orga–
nization, on the other hand, wel–
comes t he prospect of an indepen–
dent European stand on the Mid–
dle East.
lt
objects, however , to
the EEC propasa! for a rcferen–
dum among Palestinians world–
wide, feeling that such a referen–
dum would undermine the PLO's
claim to be thc sole representativc
of tbe Palestinian pcople.
PLO officiaJs also oppose pro–
posals that would demilitarize or
partially demilitarize the futu re
Palestinian zone.
Europe's Motives
Many observers of thc M ideast
scene have noted that the Euro–
pean proposals are seemingly far
removed from anything an Israelí
government could conceivab ly
accept. One journalist has termed
the EEC plan "an obvious non–
starter."
That assessment may be pre–
mature. Given the proper secu rity
guarantees, it is possible that an
Israelí Labor government migh l
prove to be somewhal more con–
ctliatory than expected.
At the momenl , howcvcr , the
picture does not look promising.
Consequently, there have been
charges from many quarlcrs thal
Europeans are simply attcmpling
to ingratiate l hemsclves with
Arab nations for economic rea–
sons-that the European propos–
als are simply an elaborate
cha–
rade,
a
pretense
lo keep the
Arabs happy.
Is rae lis especially feel that
Europe is giving way to lhe Arabs
in order to placate Arab oi l pro–
ducers. The implication is that
Europe is not really serious about
its proposals, but is simply pu t–
ting them forward for propaganda
pu rposes.
Israelí officials have especially
ridiculed the idea that European
troops could effectively guarantee
a Mideast settlement. "Would
the European Communi ty
real/y
defend ls rael against a member of
OPEC?" they ask.
Undeniably, Europe is eco–
nomically vulnerable. France, as
one example, re lies on the Persian
Gul f region for
80 percent
of its
oil needs. Renewed Arab- Is raeli
fi ghting would almost certa inly
d isrupt oi l supplies. A cutoff of
Mideast oil would be utterly
di–
sastrous
to Europe!
Europe certainly cannot be
faulted for seeking to achieve
greater security of oil supplies by
working for greater stability in
lhe Middle East. But the Middle
East 's instability is a result of
many factors, nol just the Arab–
lsraeli confrontation.
Conflicts are rife throughout
the Arab world between leftisls
and rightists, rich and poor, Mos–
lem orthodox and Moslem liber–
a ls, nalional majorities a nd
national minorities, civi lian offi–
cials and army officers. Potential
flashpoints for Mideast war are
innumerable!
At present, the continuing war
between Iraq and lran poses a sig–
nificantly greater threat to the
flow of oil than t he controversy
over Pa lest ine. Critics of the
European Mideast initiative have
thus faulted it as being too nar–
row in scope and shor tsighted in
perspective.
Sorne have also suggested that
envy
and
resentment
toward the
United States may have played a
part in the launching of the Eu ro–
pean initiative last year. Wash–
ington has long stood in the lime–
light as the chief mediator between
Arab and Israelí. Europe has large–
ly slood on the sidelines.
The West German newspaper
Frankfurter Neue Presse
has
noted that in urging Europe lo
play a larger role in the tvf"iddle
East, President Sadat "was on
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