Prime Minister David Ben Gurion met successively today with Russian Ambassador Alexander Bodorov and American Charge d’Affairs William Baxter in a burst of diplomatic activity sparked by a dispute between the captain of the Inge Toft and United Arab Republic officials on the fate of an Israel cargo on the detained ship.
The dispute developed when the captain rejected orders of the Egyptian “War Prize Court” to unload the cargo of cement, potash and leather taken on by the ship at Haifa. The ship was detained at the entrance to the Suez Canal last week.
The Ben Gurion meetings lasted one hour with each diplomat and the subject in both meetings was understood to be the Inge Toft situation. At the same time, Israel representatives in maritime countries were notified of the latest developments. Constant contact was being maintained between Jerusalem and the various capitals as well as with the Israel mission to the United Nations.
Koto Matsudaira, chairman of the Japanese delegation to the United Nations, held a long conference here yesterday with Prime Minister Ben Gurion, in the latter’s office. The two statesmen discussed the Middle East situation in general and, in particular, the issue of United Arab Republic actions against ships carrying Israeli cargoes through the Suez Canal, as illustrated by the Egyptian stoppage of the Danish ship Inge Toft.
Japan has a double interest in this issue. Some of the Israeli cargoes on three ships halted by Egypt in recent months, while attempting transit through the Suez Canal, had been consigned to Japanese customers. Another reason for Japan’s interest is that, as a member of the United Nations Security Council, it may be called upon to take a stand on this issue, if Israel brings the matter before a meeting of the Council.
The Egyptian press, as monitored here, was reported as giving the case widespread prominence, with both official and semi-official newspapers describing the impasse on the Israeli cargo issue as “a serious and dangerous crisis.” The Egyptian press also reported that an armed guard had been posted on the Inge Toft, pending new instructions from the Egyptian court in Alexandria.
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.
