Dr. Francisco Urrutia, Colombian diplomat and United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold’s personal representative, arrived here today to begin his mission of obtaining full demilitarization of the Mt. Scopus area and to settle Israel-Jordan disputes over the area. He immediately went into conference with Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister.
During Mr. Hammarskjold’s visits to Jerusalem and Amman early this month, Israel agreed to full inspection of her positions on the height when Jordan had demilitarized its portion of the area. In the Jordan area there is a military training camp, fortifications and a population of the local Arab village which exceeds by several hundred the limit set in the special pact between Israel and Jordan governing the height.
It is understood that Israel expects the Urrutia talks to accomplish two things: prevention of future interference by Jordan in Israel’s affairs on Mt. Scopus, like the recent blockade against the transportation of gasoline to the guards on the czown of the hill; and, exploration of the possibilities of implementation of Article VIII of the armistice pact which looks toward the resumption of regular cultural life at the Hebrew University and humanitarian activities at Hadassah Hospital.
Meanwhile, in its first complaint to the Israel-Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission since United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold’s visit to the area, Jordan charged this week-end that Israeli troops were digging trenches in the Mt. Scopus demilitarized area. This was originally one of the charges which brought tension between Jordan and UN acting truce chief Col. Byron V. Leary and caused Mr. Harm Arskjold to make flying visits to Amman and Jerusalem.
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.
