Two Arab members of Israel’s Parliament today challenged plans of the Government to expropriate some partly Arab owned land for development of a new town near the Acre-Safed road.
A motion was submitted by Communist deputy Emile Habibi and Mapam deputy Yousef Khamis asking for a full debate on the proposed expropriation. They argued that marble quarries on the site provided a livelihood for 400 Arab families and that adjacent land could be used for the development project, Some 1,300 acres,half of which belongs to Arab villages, will be used for the new town, Carmiel.
Finance Minister Levi Eshkol, replying for the Government, said it was simply a coincidence that some of the land was partly Arab-owned. He said Jewish land was also expropriated for similar purposes. He explained that among considerations leading to selection of the site were the topography and proximity to roads and supply centers.
He also said that in compensation, the Government had offered either land or money and that most of the owners chose cash. Elias Makhle, another Arab deputy, then proposed that the issue be submitted to a Knesset committee. His proposal was approved without objection.
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion said yesterday that he had received a letter from Burmese Premier U Nu explaining the declaration the Burmese leader had signed jointly with President Nasser of Egypt in Cairo.
Mr. Ben-Gurion said he was “completely satisfied” that U Nu was a staunch friend of Israel. In the Joint Nasser-U Nu statement, the two Government leaders pledged “support for the full restoration of all rights of the Arab people of Palestine in conformity with the Charter and United Nations resolutions. “
The Israel Premier conceded that the initial announcement of the Joint declaration had caused him “unpleasant surprise” but said that he had discounted the importance of the statement after reading the Burmese Premier’s letter. He said Nasser had obtained from the Burmese leader nothing more than an endorsement of his known position- -namely, to support United Nations decisions, Mr. Ben-Gurion added that Nasser worded the Joint declaration to obtain the ready endorsement of the Burmese Premier for UN resolutions which Nasser himself disregards.
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