As the Australian Parliament continued today to debate the Middle East problem, Richard G. Casey, Minister for External Affairs, declared that “Israel has maintained a correct attitude. ” Israel, he stated, “has done nothing to sharpen the present situation.”
“Israel, ” continued Mr. Casey, “has assumed a watchful position, concerned lest encirclement of her borders become a possibility. It would be tragic if any action occurs to revive the Israel dispute.”
Speakers on behalf of the Liberal, Country and Labor Parties have been generally favorable to Israel’s cause and have expressed hopes, in the current debate, that actions would be taken to ease the Middle East tensions, including the Israel-Arab problem. Most of them have expressed the hopes that no border changes would be undertaken along Israel’s frontiers.
One Liberal, however, D. Killen, told Parliament that the “fundamental cause” for the Middle East tension is the creation of Israel which he termed “a folly. ” He urged that Israel return to the borders fixed in the 1947 United Nations partition plan, conceding however, that “Israel today is a reality.”
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.
