The Lebanese Government has turned down an Israeli offer to negotiate a permanent peace treaty on the basis of the present boundaries between the two countries. The Lebanese reply to the Israeli note was conveyed to the Government here by United Nations mediator Gunnar V. Jarring in the form of a “verbal note,” two days ago. The Lebanese reportedly said that they had no territorial claims against Israel but would not negotiate as long as the Palestinian refugee problem remains unsolved. Sources here said Israel planned no further notes to Lebanon and as far as it is concerned the talks with Lebanon through Ambassador Jarring remain “frozen.” Israel’s 50-mile border with Lebanon is identical to the international boundary drawn during the Mandates period before world war II. Lebanon insists that its 1949 armistice agreement with. Israel is still in force, Israel has rejected that claim on grounds that Lebanon declared itself at war with Israel in June, 1967. There was no fighting between Israel and Lebanon during the Six-Day War.
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.
