A Foreign Office spokesman today denied a report from Danasous that a non-aggression pact was signed yesterday between King Abdullah of Transjordan and Israel Premier David Bon Gurion aboard a British destroyer, off the port of Akaba.
A similar denial was voiced last night by Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett on the floor of the Israel Parliament. He stated that not only has no such agreement been signed with Transjordan, but that the Cabinet has no definite agreement on this subject before it.
The Foreign Minister reminded the deputies that Parliament on several occasions voted on an agreement with Transjordan, namely, on the armistice pact which was concluded at Rhodes and which he said could for all purposes be considered a non-aggression pact. He added that Parliament several times empowered the Cabinet to enter negotiations with any of the neighboring countries for purposes of peace. “Any public discussion of an international agreement prior to signature may sabotage the agreement,” he emphasized.
Following Mr. Sharett’s statement, Parliament decided, by a vote of 54 to 25, to remove from its agenda a motion introduced by Horut deputies requesting an immediate debate on the alleged signing of a non-aggression pact with Transjordan. The request for a Parliamentary debate was supported by Itzhak Ben Aron, leader of the Mapam, left Socialist party.
The voting was influenced by arguments advanced by Zalman Aronovitch, chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. Opposing any discussion by Parliament of international agreements prior to their signature, he pointed out that his committee had twice had the opportunity of discussing fully contacts with the neighboring countries.
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.
