State Department Expert Believes Israel Will Return Occupied Territories

A State Department specialist on Middle Eastern affairs said today at a news conference that Israel will return occupied territories because she cannot afford to keep them. John E. Horner said “the problem of governing these territories would be almost insurmountable for Israel.”

Mr. Horner held that Israel’s regular army was not adequate to the task of military government, and would require reserves. He said that the army must soon demobilize reservists because “Israel needs these workers to keep its industrial and agricultural economy booming.”