Uar Ambassador to UN Asks Thant to ‘once More’ Urge Israel to Implement Resolutions

The Egyptian ambassador, Mohamed H. El-Zayyet, submitted a letter yesterday to Secretary General U Thant suggesting that the Israelis “should be called upon once more” to implement all the “relevant United Nations resolutions and that an appeal should be made for the sake of peace, to the government of the United States not to render further assistance and support to Israel” as long as it continues to “flout and defy” the Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. Along with this suggestion Mr. El-Zayyet also submitted to Mr. U Thant the speech made by President Nasser on May 1 in Egypt in which the Egyptian leader warned President Nixon that “if the United States wants peace, then it should get Israel to withdraw from all the Arab territories occupied in 1967.” Mr. El-Zayyet, in submitting Pres. Nasser’s May Day speech, referred to it as an “appeal to the President of the United States of America from the President of the United Arab Republic.” Mr. El-Zayyet asked Mr. U Thant to circulate President Nasser’s “appeal” as an official document of the Security Council and of the General Assembly. Last Wednesday, Mr. Thant expressed alarm that Russian pilots were flying missions over Egypt but declared that so long as the cease-fire resolutions and the Nov. 22, 1967 resolution calling for Israeli withdrawal are not implemented by the parties, the situation in the Middle East will continue to deteriorate. Ambassador Yosef Tekoah of Israel criticized this statement and declared it was proof that the UN could not deal objectively with the Arab-Israel conflict.

Ambassador Tekoah, replying today to newsmen’s questions on the Nasser “appeal,” stated. “The central point in Nasser’s speech of May 1, 1970, is his determination to continue and intensify the war against Israel. The Egyptian representative’s letter is another attempt in the Soviet-UAR campaign aimed at preventing international efforts to arrest the dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict resulting from Soviet military involvement.” In a letter today to Mr. Thant, Mr. Tekoah declared that the “Soviet military involvement” had been “established beyond any doubt,” was known to the world, and had “introduced a new dimension into the regional conflict.” He remarked that the declaration of both President Nasser and Mr. El-Zayyat did not contain “any explicit denials” of Soviet pilots in Egypt, and that they did not offer “any change” in Egypt’s 22-year “policy of hostility and war.” He reiterated that Egypt has “repudiated” its Security Council obligations and rejected opportunities for negotiations.