Meeting in Brussels, the Foreign Ministers of the member nations of the European Economic Community, issued a statement on the situation in the Middle East, which was highly critical of Israel policies. The statement ignored the current efforts of Israel, Egypt and the United States, to make progress on the road to peace, and reiterated the well-known stand that peace in the region should be based on Resolution 242 and be a comprehensive one. Israel denounced the statement both in the Knesset and in a message to the Nine. Following are texts of the Declaration of the Nine and the reaction of Foreign Minister Dayan:
(A) STATEMENT OF THE NINE:
The Nine have examined the situation in the Middle East.
1. They recall, in accordance with their previous declarations, in particular those of 29 June 1977 and of 26 March 1979, that a just and lasting peace can be established only on the basis of a comprehensive settlement which should be based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and on:
The inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force;
The need for Israel to end the territorial occupation which it has maintained since the 1967 conflict;
Respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of every state in the region and their right to live in peace within secure and recognised borders;
Recognition of the fact that, to establish a just and lasting peace, account will have to be taken of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, including their right to a homeland.
2. The Nine deplore any action or declaration which might stand in the way of the quest for peace. They consider, in particular, that certain attitudes and declarations of the Israeli Government are such as to create obstacles in the search for a comprehensive settlement of this kind, notably:
Israel's ultimate claim to sovereignty over the occupied territories, which is incompatible with Resolution 242, which laid down the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force;
The policy of the establishment of settlements pursued by the Israeli Government in the occupied territories, which is illegal in international law.
3. As regards the Lebanon, the Nine support its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. They deplore all acts endangering the security of the population and hindering the restoration of the authority of the Government of the Lebanon throughout the whole of its territory and particularly in the south of the country. Gravely concerned at the difficulties which UNIFIL, to which some of the Nine contribute, is encountering in carrying out its mandate, they appeal to all parties to respect the decisions of the Security Council.
The above are the comments which the Nine wish to make at this moment. They reserve the right to return to all of these questions at a later date.
(B) FOREIGN MINISTER DAYAN MESSAGE TO FOREIGN MINISTERS OF THE NINE, 20 JUNE 1979.
Dear Colleague,
The Government of Israel totally rejects the Middle East statement of the Foreign Ministers of the European Community of June 18th and views it as injurious to the entire process of negotiations in the area and to the search for a comprehensive settlement.
The position taken by the European Community can only discourage the negotiations between the parties on all the various issues involved in autonomy and the future of Judaea, Samaria and the Gaza District.
It had been our hope and expectation that the European Community would give its full support to the historic achievement of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty and to the arduous negotiations upon which we are now embarked. However, after the new statement, I can only ask you to weigh most carefully the grave responsibility and consequences of attempts to prejudice and dictate from without the course of the negotiations, strengthening the forces and positions committed to their failure and thereby causing irreparable damage to the hopes of peace in the Middle East.
The Israeli settlements are, in our opinion, strictly in accord with international law, and we know of no rule of law which could feasibly ban Jews from living in Judaea, Samaria and the Gaza District. Not a single Arab has been displaced by these settlements. On the contrary, the establishment of the Jewish settlements in the areas has brought with it economic development and additional sources of employment to the Arab inhabitants of these areas.
Despite the statement of the European Community, and many other obstacles in our path, Israel will do its best to continue the negotiations in the hope of achieving an agreement in accordance with the Camp David accords - both in letter and in spirit.
Please accept, dear Colleague, the assurances of my highest considerations.
Moshe Dayan