The chances of Israel and the Arab states accepting the American proposal for hydroelectric development of the Jordan River Valley within the next few years are three to one in favor of acceptance, Eric Johnston, President Eisenhower’s personal envoy to the Middle East, said here yesterday. Ambassador Johnston conferred with President Eisenhower earlier in the week.
He asserted that the prospects of acceptance of the plan had improved immeasurably since 1953 when he reluctantly undertook to sell the plan to the Israelis and the Arabs. He noted that technical experts had agreed that the plan was acceptable–was in fact the only plan for the region–but that a political rapprochement must take place between Israel and the Arab states before the Arabs would formally accept the plan.
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.