PARIS: President de Gaulle, determined to play a major diplomatic role in the Middle East, is unlikely to be affected by the rising wave of criticism of his decision to impose a total arms embargo on Israel.

The decision, extending the existing ban on offensive weapons to cover defensive weapons was a personal one taken by the President without consulting his Ministers, informed sources said.

It was in fact taken shortly after the Israeli reprisal raid on Beirut Airport, which the French President strongly condemned. But the Israelis did not become aware of the total ban until customs officers stopped arms shipments at the end of last week, the sources added. Taking into account the very personal way in which Gen de Gaulle has been directing Middle-East policy, political circles here expect no change in France’s avowed intention of maintaining the complete embargo until the application of the United Nations Security Council resolution of November, 1967.

The resolution — calling for Israeli withdrawal from occupied Arab territories, has been a cornerstone of President de Gaulle’s proposal for Great Power action to solve the Middle-East problem. This French pressure has been stepped up considerably in recent weeks, with close consultation between Moscow and Paris and repeated calls by French Foreign Minister Michel Debre, for great power cooperation to apply the resolution.

But it was the embargo decision and Gen de Gaulle’s sharp criticism of Israel after last Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting that really brought the Middle-East question alive as a domestic political issue.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2019