The Arab refugee problem can be solved only as part of the solution of the larger Palestine problem, Dr. Walter Eytan, head of the Israeli delegation to the preliminary peace conference here, declared in a statement hare last night, as it was learned that U.N. quarters believe that it would “be reasonable for Israel to take back some 250,000 of the refugees.
It was further learned that members of the U.U. Conciliation Commission lean toward the Israeli position that acceptance of the refugees must depend on final action on Israeli borders. These same circles believe that since Egypt has expressed disinterest in the Gaza strip which it still holds, it should he ceded to Israel together with the 150,000 refugees now living in it.
The addition of 60,000 refugees who are estimated to have entered Israel since the Transjordan armistice agreement plus another 40,000 who will he included in Israel’s territory as a result of other frontier changes, is the minimum number of refugees that Israel will have to accept to break the deadlock on this issue, U.N. quarters assert. The essence of this point of view will be made soon in a proposal to Israel, Commission sources indicate.
Authoritative sources have also revealed that the Commission has asked the U.N. to appoint immediately a development committee to survey all available plans and projects for economic development and settlement in Arab countries and Israel. The U.N, requested the Geneva secretariat to select personnel for this committee which is expected to have an American chairman and a British deputy. The committee will be charged with studying all available proposals, including the Jezirah and Euphrates plan and Dr. Walter C. Lowdermilk’s project for the Jordan Valley. It is to report in six weeks and its report would be designed to become the basis for a solution of the Arab refugee question.
ISRAEL HOPES LASTING PEACE WILL EMERGE FROM TALKS
Dr. Eytan, who is director-general of the Israel Foreign Ministry, also stated that Israel hopes that a lasting peace will emerge from the U.N.-sponsored talks. He added that Israel hopes that the parley will lead to a complete stabilization of relations between the Jewish states and its Arab neighbors, with each state undertaking to respect the “common” boundaries and cooperating in the “permanent resettlement and rehabilitation of those who left their homes in the course of the war against Israel.”
In an elaboration of his point on the refugees, Dr. Eytan stated that Israel had never said that it would not take back any of the refugees. He questioned the estimates of the number of refugees accepted by the Commission, Insisting that his government places the figure at 550,000. Dr. Eytan’s statement also made clear that Israel would not enter into discussions with Syria until an armistice pact with her had been signed, and that no contract would be sought at this time with Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The head of the Israeli delegation had a long private chat with Mark Ethridge, American member of the three-nation Commission, yesterday. The results of the talks are not yet known.
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.
