Is the Minister saying here that the State of Egypt which is an Arab State——

It is not, it is an Egyptian State. They would be very annoyed if they were to hear themselves being described as Arabs.

They are not Arabs?

They are Egyptians.

They are not part of the Arab world?

The Deputy should get himself up-to-date. At present there is in existence a new Arab League which does not include Egypt. The Deputy should be careful about this.

Order.

I am glad that the Minister is concerned about my being careful as it is obviously too late for him to be careful. Has the Minister given any consideration to the position of President Sadat, who is at present negotiating with Isreal regarding the occupied territories, in his recognition of the PLO and his description of Mr. Arafat as a moderate?

The Deputy will appreciate that the situation with regard to Egypt and the Arab countries as such now incorporated in the Arab League, is not one of co-operation in which they see eye to eye——

I know that.

——since the Camp David decision. The realities in the Middle East are that all of the Arab States, other than Egypt, are grouped together in the Arab League and all of those countries including countries as disparate as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States recognise the PLO as the spokesman for the Palestinian people.

Would the Minister agree that because the President of Egypt is trying to find a peaceful solution and because the convenant of the PLO that he is unaware of calls for the military destruction of Israel——

The Deputy must be aware—and it is not just my view but the view of every western European country—that there cannot be peace in the Middle East unless there is mutual recognition of a homeland for the Palestinians and the territorial integrity of the Israeli State. Those two factors must be negotiated.

Could I ask——

Other Deputies are entitled to ask a question.

We are dealing with seven extremely important questions, six of which are mine. While there is no doubt as to the right of the Palestinian people to a homeland, would the Minister agree that peace in the Middle East is impossible as long as the PLO stick to the convenant that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel?

I am not here to comment on what the PLO say or do not say, nor was it in any of the questions. I am concerned with the realities of the situation and I was very heartened to see in a recent statement by the British Chief Rabbi which was reported in the Jerusalem Post of 13 February last, that he did not rule out the possibility of a Palestinian State on the West Bank in the Gaza Strip and that he would even allow such a state to have its capital in Jerusalem. That view has also been expressed by all of our EEC partners in the last number of years and it is a consistent attitude adopted by the great majority of states represented at the UN. It is also the view of the Fine Gael Party as expressed here by Deputies Mitchell and O'Keeffe and by Senator Staunton, and followed by Deputy FitzGerald as Minister for Foreign Affairs. I do not understand why Deputy Cluskey insists on being out on a limb in this matter.