Premier David Ben Gurion succeeded today in holding his Government coalition together despite disagreements on the Government’s decision to withdraw its troops from the Gaza and Akaba areas and beat back three non-confidence motions made by opposition parties.
The non-confidence motion introduced by the Herut Party, second largest party in the Parliament, failed by a vote of 25 to 81 against. A Communist motion received only six votes. A General Zionist resolution which would have required the Government to halt troop withdrawals forthwith, was defeated by a vote of 25 to 85 against it.
The Knesset debate opened this afternoon in a tempestuous atmosphere intensified by statements made in Washington yesterday by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles which
opposition elements seized upon as unqualified confirmation of their worst suspicions that the withdrawal had been ordered without adequate guarantees.
The situation was further complicated when Israel Galili, spokesman for Achdut Avodah, one of the Government coalition parties, asserted from the floor that only those parties whose representatives in the Cabinet had voted for withdrawal bore the responsibility for the retreat. He affirmed, however, that his party would remain in the Government. A similar declaration was made for the Mapam Party, another coalition member.
BEN GURION TERMS U.N. DECLARATIONS “GOOD, BAD AND MEDIUM”
Mr. Ben Gurion had to overcome boos and catcalls when he rose to wind up the debate. He appeared tired and suffering the strain of the past few tense weeks. He told the house that he was the last to claim infallibility and he admitted bluntly that the conditions he had hoped for governing commerce and free navigation to the port of Elath on the Gull of Akaba had not been realized.
He referred to various declarations made at the United Nations with reference to Israel’s rights of self-defense at Tiran and Gaza and its right to freedom of navigation, and termed them, “good, bad and medium. ” These, he said, were merely declarations but what gave them weight was the fact that there is an Israel Army and a Jewish people which are forces providing the best guarantees of any declarations.
Referring to Egypt’s declarations that it would not permit passage of Israel ships and would adhere to the letter of the general armistice agreements, Mr. Ben Gurion said Israel does not recognize the agreement’s validity in view of Egypt’s continued aggressions and flouting of its terms. If Egypt acts on the basis of the armistice agreement in any way with regard to Gaza, he told the Knesset, Israel, as it announced in the General Assembly, would feel itself justified in acting and would take action including the use of force.
SHARETT SUPPORTS BEN GURION; WARNS AGAINST BREACH WITH UNITED STATES
Before the Premier took the floor to wind up the debate, he received powerful debating support from his former close aide and associate, Moshe Sharett, Israel’s first Foreign Minister. Mr. Sharett had generally been considered critical of the Government policy in undertaking the Sinai operation last October.
Mr. Sharett soberly reminded Parliament that the main issue was the future of Israel’s relations with the world at large. He said that even if Israel had defied the world and had withstood sanctions, this would have served no purpose since Israel’s task is to continue its upbuilding, to consolidate and to absorb newcomers in view of the hopes of emigration in many countries. “If we fail in this, ” he warned, “it would be no less a calamity than what the enemy could inflict on us. ” Mr. Sharett called for a realistic approach to the problems and warned the country to face up to trials ahead. A short-sighted concentration on security alone, he told the Knesset, might boomerang in the long run. A breach between Israel on the one hand and the United States and Asia on the other, he advised, involved danger to the very existence of Israel. He justified the Governments decision to withdraw, pointing out that a small country cannot, for long, bear disrupted international relations.
Before the Knesset was polled on the non-confidence motions, the Achdut Avodah and the Parties were given the floor to make statements. Both said they were opposed to the withdrawal of Israels forces from the Akaba and Gaza areas but would not leave the Government or vote non-confidence in it since they believed the present coalition is the only effective one for the welfare of the country.
The declarations were challenged by the Herut deputies and a Herut spokesman charged that this attitude created a grave danger to the country’s constitutional practices. He insisted that the two parties must either be “in or out” of the government. A General Zionist spokesman took the same position.
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.
