The United Nations Conciliation Commission on Palestine today informed Dr. Walter Eytan, chief of the Israeli mission here, that it would consider setting up two “working parties” composed of members of the Commission and Israeli and Arab representatives to speed up the procedure. One of the working parties would concentrate on the refugee problem and the second on territorial questions.
Dr. Eytan, on his recent return from Tel Aviv, had proposed to the Commission three other “working parties” as well in an effort to bring the Israelis and Arabs face to face in an effort to reach agreement. Members of the Commission said they did not think the time ripe for the other working parties and expressed belief that the Arabs might not. Yet be ready to agree to participate.
Earlier, Dr. Eytan told the Commission that Israel firmly opposed adjournment of the Lausanne peace talks, now entering their eighth week. Heads of the Lebanese and Jordan delegations also urged continuation of the conference. For the past two weeks the Israeli and Arab missions have been urging the Commission to put peace proposals before both sides, on its own “initiative. A Commission spokesman said, however, that the Commission had no authority from the United Nations General Assembly to offer peace terns.
A spokesman for the four Arab delegations – Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and transjordan–outlined today the latest Arab proposal for Jerusalem. He backed, for three of then, the trusteeship plan submitted to the U.N. General Assembly two years ago. This plan, he emphasized, was supported by all the Arab states except Transjordan, which supported the partition of Jerusalem, giving the Old City and part of the New City to Arab rule.
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.
