Israeli Spokesman at U.N. Derides Arab Demands for Demilitarization of Jerusalem

The Arab conditions for the demilitarization of Jerusalem were today labelled as “absurd” by an Israeli mission spokesman. The statement, which said that the Arab League’s demands do not provide even a “basis for discussion, was issued here at about the same time that Tel Aviv announced the establishment of a military occupation regime for all of Jerusalem except the Old City.

Pointing out that the Israeli Government has made it clear that it will not discuss any encroachment of its sovereign jurisdiction in respect to immigration, the spokesman said that that issue and the demand that some 300,000 Arab refugees from Palestine be readmitted to Israeli-held territory lie outside of the Security Council resolution on the trace. The question of an arms embargo on Israel as a condition for a settlement in Jerusalem is also invalid, the spokesman said, because it was already covered in the terms of the overall trace.

Turning to the question of the Cyprus internees, the spokesman declared that “the Government of Israel has already made a formal statement to the Security Council about the illegal detention of come 10,000 men by the British authorities on Cyprus, It has been pointed out that the Mandate is at an end, that such detection violates the Security Council (truce) resolution, and that the mediator has disclaimed all responsibility for it.”

The Israeli representative at the U.N. publicly challenged the United Kingdom representative to indicate any legal basis for this captivity, but no explanation has been offered, the spokesman stated, adding that as a result of representations made in London, the British Foreign Office is reported to be considering whether it will now defer to the authority of the mediator in this matter. If these captives are not released in the near future, further action is contemplated at the Security Council, the concluded.