The Security Council failed today in its 15th meeting since it took up the issue on October 27, to reach a decision on the Syrian complaint against Israel over the Bnot Yaakov hydroelectric project.
It adjourned until tomorrow afternoon when Dr. Charles Malik of the Lebanon is scheduled to wind up the general debate after which a part-by-part vote is to be taken on the amended resolution introduced by the United States, Britain and France.
Strong objection to key sections of this resolution were voiced in the debate today by the Soviet Union and The Lebanon. Brazil announced that it would abstain from voting on the two key, operative paragraphs of the draft resolution.
Despite this, backers of the measure were hopeful that it would secure passage tomorrow, receiving the seven votes necessary from its three sponsors and Turkey, New Zealand, Denmark and Colombia.
Dr. Malik, who took the unusual course of ceding his chairmanship of the session to the New Zealand delegate because his country was an “interested party,” made a last-minute effort to sidetrack the three-power resolution. He introduced a new resolution requesting Maj. Gen. Vagn Bennike, the UN truce chief, to explore the possibilities of reconciling the two parties to the dispute and to report back to the Council within 90 days. Meanwhile, the Council would “remain seized” with the item and Israel would thus not be permitted to resume work on the project.
SOVIET DELEGATE BLASTS AMENDED DRAFT
In speaking for the amended resolution, the American delegate stressed that it gave Gen, Bennike no more power than he had under the armistice agreement. The Soviet and Lebanese delegates, however, protested that the resolution gave him too much authority. The Russian delegate blasted the amended text for failing to require the consent of both parties in the dispute and objected to leaving decisions to the chief of staff. He thus, in effect, supported the Syrian claim to a veto right over development of the demilitarized zone.
In another move to block passage of the three-power resolution, Lebanon invoked a provision requiring part-by-part vote on the resolution rather than a vote on the whole. The Soviet Union supported it in this demand.
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