Wrangling Over The West Bank

Succeeding the pyrotechnic Pat Moynihan as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, patrician William Scranton described himself as an "enthusiastic supporter" of his predecessor, but "not the same kind of person." Last week, in his maiden appearance, Scranton proved the two alike in at least one respect. By the time a Security Council Middle East debate had ended, the man who was a Nixon troubleshooter in the Middle East in 1968 and put the word evenhanded into the lexicon of U.S. Arab-Israeli diplomacy, had, like Moynihan, provided surprises for everybody, including Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Islamic delegates sought the U.N. debate in order to protest Israeli occupation of the Jordan West Bank and expropriation of Arab land by Jewish religious extremists. Even as the Security Council met, West Bank Arabs continued their protests (TIME, March 29) against Jewish prayers at East Jerusalem's Temple Mount, which is also the site of an Islamic shrine. The resulting angry scurries between Palestinians and Israeli troops also produced casualties: an eleven-year-old Arab boy died after being shot in the head and an older man succumbed from head injuries after being beaten in a protest.

At the Security Council session, the Arab participants included a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, invited to act as spokesman for the West Bankers. Israeli Ambassador Chaim Herzog also decided to attend--after Washington exerted pressure on Jerusalem to alter its longstanding policy of refusing any face-to-face meetings with P.L.O. members. Thus for the first time ever, Israeli and P.L.O. delegates sat down together in the Security Council. Herzog carefully ignored P.L.O. Observer Zehdi Labib Terzi. Terzi interrupted the Israeli frequently on points of order and referred to Israel as the "Zionist entity."

Arab Resolution. Scranton was the central figure in the debate. He unsettled Israel by describing the occupation of East Jerusalem, which the Israeli government considers permanent, as "interim and provisional." Scranton was not really outlining new policy, merely stating the established U.S. position more bluntly. But when the vote came after four days of argument and 14 other members endorsed the Arab resolution, which called for "speedy termination" of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Scranton cast a veto, explaining that the resolution would interfere with U.S. peace negotiations. In effect, the State Department was worried that if the resolution carried, the Israel bloc in Congress might retaliate by stopping the proposed sale of six C-130 planes to Egypt.

As it was, Scranton irked the Arabs by blocking a resolution that had been laboriously watered down precisely to avoid a U.S. veto. Israel was infuriated by a well-intentioned aside uttered by Scranton just before beginning his opening speech in the Security Council debate. The new ambassador looked around the chamber and invited "any of you and preferably all of you" to consult informally with him about the situation in the Middle East. Perhaps oversensitively, the Israeli government decided that Scranton's remark implied formal U.S. acceptance of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and it ordered Ambassador Simcha Dinitz to protest to Kissinger. The Secretary of State, embarrassed about Scranton's friendliness, described the ambassador's impromptu invitation as "an unfortunate formulation."

Jewish Settlers. Regardless of the U.N. resolution and its fate, West Bankers are likely to continue their protests; after nearly nine years they are tired of Israeli occupation and alarmed over the encroachment of Jewish settlers. Eight West Bank mayors have quit in protest and Israeli-sponsored elections scheduled to be held in 25 communities on April 12 may be canceled. Even some Israelis are becoming critical of Jerusalem's sometimes insensitive administration of the West Bank communities. Writing in the Tel Aviv newspaper Yediot Aharonot, Zvi Al Peleg, former occupation commander of Nablus and the Gaza Strip, noted: "The stones thrown will not drive Israel out of the area. But perhaps they will shatter some illusions about our being the wisest and best conquerors in history."

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