The entire Israeli delegation to the U.N. Conciliation Commission conference on Palestine, lea by Dr. Walter Eytan, director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, left here yesterday for Geneva to confer with foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, who decided at the last minute to cancel his scheduled trip to Prague and remain in Geneva during the week-end. Their object was to try to prevent a threatened breakdown of the Lausanne peace talks.
The stage has now been reached in negotiations with the Arab states and the Conciliation Commission where Israel will have to take a decision either to compromise or to break up the conference. The peace talks have reached the so-called minimal Arab demands. These have been presented by the Commission to the Israeli delegation in the form of “conversation measures.”
The Israelis received the memorandum 48 hours ago and it is the principal topic of discussion with Sharett at Geneva. Rejection of the Arab demands by the Israeli legation would mean, in the Commission’s view, the immediate departure of the Arab delegations from Lausanne.
The Arabs have been seriously divided on these issues in the last few days, Its Syrian delegation–most intransigent of the Arab Groups here–has been pressing the other Arab states to pack up and go home at once. The Egyptians were at first inclined to agree and then changed their position. The Lebanese, although moderate by inclination and clearly desiring a settlement, have been under strong Syrian pressure and consequently also voted for early departure.
TRANSJORDAN DELEGATE PERSUADES OTHER ARAB ENVOYS TO AWAIT ISRAELI REPLY
Dr. Fawzi Pasha Mulki, Trans Jordan Foreign Minister, Persuaded the other Arab delegations to await the Israeli answer to the proposed conversation measures before feeding on staying or leaving. Mulki made it clear, however, that he, too, would be unable to remain if the Israelis should return a categorical no to the memorandum.
The suggestions are that Israel repair an Arab highway and use returning refugee Arab labor for the purpose; that the returning Arabs should receive back their own land, dwellings and property, even if the houses are now occupied by Israeli; that compensation be assessed on an individual, not a lump sum, basis; that a mixed committee of Arabs, Israelis and commission representatives should investigate the state of Arab property; that blocked Arab ac counts in Israeli banks should be unfrozen and used for the purpose of working Arab property; that the Arabs should have an observer in the councils of the Israeli custodian of enemy properties; and that Israel should take a census of Arabs in Israel and allow a reunion broken Arab families.
The Arabs say these are the minimum measures which should be implemented immediately. An Israeli acquiescence which is made conditional on full peace settlement would not be acceptable to them. The Israeli attitude is to accept the last point, calling for a census and reunion. The other points they consider to be out of the question, in view of the internal situation in Israel and the continued all cut propaganda in all the Arab countries. The Commission canceled all meetings until Tuesday. Meanwhile attempts
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