Premier David Ben Gurion today indicated that Israel may soon begin peace negotiations with two Arab states, in addition to Egypt. Speaking to a Mapai conference here, the Premier also declared "we are looking to peace but not peace at any price."
Despite the fact that negotiations -with Egypt begin today at Rhodes other peace talks may be in the offing, Ben Gurion said that it is not yet certain that the war is over since "this also depends upon the third party." He said that the "hostile forces around us have not yet given up their plans to destroy Israel or at least cut into its territory." He insisted that if the Jews faced the Arab world alone, peace would have come a long time ago.
Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok, speaking later, voiced the hope that the Rhodes parley would be "the turning point and a step towards peace. We are possibly entering a stage of diplomatic relations with the Arab states and the day is perhaps not far off when we shall send ministers to Cairo, Amman and Beirut and they will send their representatives to Tel Aviv," Shertok declared.
The Israeli Foreign Minister emphasized the "ideological differences between Mapai and the two opposition parties — the Mapan and Heruth" and charged that both want a continuation of the war — Mapan because it wants the establishment of an Arab Palestine state alongside Israel, and Heruth because it wants to conquer the entire Palestine area." Shertok emphasized that Mapai has "throughout been against extremism."
Turning to British intervention in the Palestine conflict, the Israeli Foreign Minister said that "we always knew one enemy was continuously behind the scene, but now that enemy has come out into the open." In a bitter denunciation of British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, Shertok asserted that Bevin’s "policy is –if not the destruction of Israel — at least the reduction of its size and the weakening of its strength.
"Egypt and Trensjordan are now weighing the scales as to whether to depend on Britain or make peace with us," he added. "In negotiations with the Arabs, we will face very difficult problems: the return of the Arab refugees and the future of Jerusalem."
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
