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Israel’s Present Boundaries Are Not Final, Secretary Dulles Says

March 11, 1958
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Secretary of State Dulles told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that “some day, there will have to be a negotiation which will fix the final boundaries” of Israel. Mr. Dulles testified recently, but his testimony was not made public until today.

“The armistice agreements which now define the de facto limits of Israel are not supposed to be definitive boundaries Secretary Dulles stated. “The armistice agreement says these are not the final boundaries. “

The Secretary stressed that he had many times said “we accept the State of Israel as a fact and as a fact not to be altered by any military or forcible processes. ” The discussion of Israel’s boundaries continued at some length at the Foreign Affairs Committee but was not made public. A notation was made In the Committee public record of a “security deletinn” concerning the boundaries.

(Commenting on reports of Secretary Dulles’ testimony, Foreign Office circles in Jerusalem said that any border negotiations with Israel must be made on the basis of “Israel as Is. ” They insisted that “the question of unilateral concessions cannot arise, ” though Israel is agreeable to mutual frontier rectifications where the present lines unreasonably cut off farmers from their land.)

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