Israel is willing to conclude non-aggression pacts with both the United Arab Republic of Egypt and Syria and the Jordan-Iraq union on the basis of the territorial status quo, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion told a press conference today in his first formal statement on the recent Arab mergers.
The Prime Minister was skeptical about the peaceful intentions toward Israel of the Arab merger leaders, asserting that “we have no assurances” from Dag Hammarskjold, United Nations Secretary General, “or anybody else that the new United Arab Republic will respect the armistice agreements. ” He spoke to what was probably the largest gathering of foreign correspondents at an Israel press conference. Some 60 visiting correspondents joined the permanent reporters.
In a rapid-fire review of Israel’s security situation, the Prime Minister said he never thought the 1950 Tripartite Declaration, by which the United States, France and England were pledged to oppose any efforts to change present borders by force, was still alive; that if Iraq troops approached the Jordan River “we will have to reserve our liberty of action”; and that the 1947 United Nations partition plan was “as dead as the people who died when the Arabs invaded Israel despite that UN decision.”
The partition plan was “dead, gone and buried,” he asserted, adding he doubted that all Arabs would want a return to the 1947 UN partition borders. He cited specifically Jordan, which would have to yield a large part of the territory it seized which had been scheduled, under the UN 1947 plan, to become part of an independent Arab state.
INSISTS ON EGYPT’S PERMITTING PASSAGE FOR ISRAEL THROUGH SUEZ
Asked about Israel’s readiness to revive the Israel-Egyptian armistice, he said this would have to be preceded by Egypt’s ceasing its claimed “right of belligerency” against Israel–which he called contrary to both the UN Charter and the armistice agreement–and by permitting freedom of passage for Israel in the Suez Canal in accordance with repeated UN Security Council decisions.
In reply to a question as to whether he felt the Arab state mergers would bring peace with Israel nearer, he said that if the Arab states involved were peace-loving countries, Israel would “heartily welcome” the mergers and cooperate with them fully. He added that, with the exception of Turkey, there was not a single democratic country in the area
and that the experience of the past ten years showed that the Arab leaders continually defied the United Nations Charter and resolutions.
“Therefore,” he continued, “we naturally view with some worry the developments, especially since one Arab union is headed by a military dictatorship. However, Israel is willing to conclude non-aggression pacts with both Arab unions on the basis of the territorial status quo. Meanwhile, Israel must continue ‘business as usual,’ building and developing the country.”
SAYS ARMS EMBARGO MUST NOT BE LIMITED TO ISRAEL ONLY
The Prime Minister said Israel would like to see a general world-wide arms embargo and disarmament among the Great Powers. He had doubts about the advisability of an arms embargo limited to Israel, a “small state threatened by her neighbors. ” He contended that both Soviet and Western arms supplied to the Arabs were actually intended by the recipients for use against Israel. No Russian believes that Syria would fight the United States and it is doubtful that anyone in the United States believes that Iraq would fight Russia, he stated.
Asked whether he thought Israel would have been better off if Britain and France had not joined in the Sinai operation, he replied: “They did not wait for my approval. ” He said he thought that if the Great Powers could establish peace among themselves, they could then start working on an Arab-Israel peace.
Asked about Israel’s need for more arms, he said that in modern military technology, arms become obsolete within three years. He said the problem was the supply of more and better arms to the Arabs and that if the Arab armies did not get such arms, Israel could take care of itself militarily.
Asked about his attitude toward “religious fanatics who will not recognize the existence of the Jewish State, ” a reference to the ultra-Orthodox Neturei Karta, the Prime Minister said: “I believe the time will come when they will understand they are mistaken. Meanwhile, we should be tolerant as long as they donot violate the laws of the state. The integration of immigrants requires patience, love and tolerance. “
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.
