Telegram from the Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv, to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 070.814, July 9, 1974, Secret

[...]

To Comrade Cornel Pacoste

The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Israel, Jesco von Puttkamer, told us that in his recent discussions with various Israeli representatives he could notice the preoccupation and even concern [they displayed] on the issue of the Palestinian question and the joint Soviet-American communiqué. [The Israelis] expressed their fears that the US could reach certain understandings with the USSR on the Palestinian question against the will of Israel and at Israel’s expense.

Jesco von Puttkamer [added] that he recently received a note from the West German ambassador in Washington which, indeed, shows that the US position towards the Palestinians has acquired new nuances. The Americans are openly talking about the necessity of finding a solution for the Palestinian question in the context of the resolution of the Middle East conflict, and they underline that there would need to be an agreement on the appropriate formula which ensures the participation of the Palestinian representatives to the Peace Conference in Geneva.

S.Z. Abramov, Member of Parliament and Vice-President of the Knesset, and Avigdor Dagan, Head of Department in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told us that the Americans were forced to give in to Soviet insistence, accepting the inclusion in the joint communiqué of references to ‘the legitimate interests’ of the Palestinians. It is beyond doubt, however, that there are new elements in the US position, on which Israel will demand clarifications. Unfortunately, at the moment, the Americans avoid to get into detail, which creates a certain [state] of uncertainty for Israel.

Avigdor Dagan told us that the State Department representatives [display] a [certain] tendency to calm down the Israelis and to give them assurances that the US will take into account Israel’s interests. Also, they show that the US did not accept the Soviet Union’s proposal that the [joint] communiqué mentions the PLO, and the participation of its representatives to the Geneva Conference. The Israeli government will debate these issues at the government session at the end of this week.

Comrade Sasha Hanin, member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Israel, mentioned that his party [has] a favourable view on the results of Nixon’s visit to Moscow, including the mentions to the Middle East conflict. Israeli officials, after having initially ignored the implications Soviet-American meeting for the Arab-Israeli conflict, are now starting to show concern and anxiety.

In some press commentaries, [which] reflect the position of governmental circles, there are views that the current Soviet-American communiqué refers to the legitimate rights of peoples in the Middle East, including the interests of the Palestinian people, [which] precede the rights regarding the right to existence of states in the region. This can be interpreted as [proof] of a desire of the [Americans and the Soviets] to give a more prominent position to the Palestinian question, than it was given in the 1973 communiqué, which talked first of the rights of the states in the region and then of the interests of peoples. Haaretz reported that a similar view was expressed by Yigal Allon in the July 7 cabinet session in which he gave a preliminary report on the visit of President Richard Nixon to the USSR.

I. Covaci