ABSTRACT
The changes in the relations between the Federal Republic and Israel in the late 1960s, received a new impetus in the early 1970s partly as a result of Ostpolitik, partly because of other changes in the international political situation. The enlargement of the European Community from six to nine members quite naturally led to a change in the power structure within the organisation. The Cold War which had remained between West Germany and its eastern neighbours was now over, so were its attendant dangers. The French government under de Gaulle had changed from a pro-Israel to a distinctly pro-Arab policy at the time of the Six Day War and had since supported demands made in the UN by the Arab states and the USSR for unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories. Franco-German relations were strained as a result of Ostpolitik and French fears about the future of West German policy towards western Europe.
