Foreign Secretary Michael Stewart said today that he thought Israel would “go a long way” to achieve peace with her neighbors and urged the Arab states to “make it clear beyond doubt that they accept Israel’s right to exist as the kind of state she wants to be.” Mr. Stewart’s “shadow” counterpart in the Conservative Party, Sir Alec Douglas Home, proposed a United Nations peace conference attended by the Big Four powers and Israel, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria to work out a peace settlement, allowing the Arabs to avoid direct talks with the Israelis. Both leaders spoke during a Parliamentary debate on the Middle East. Mr. Stewart, appealing for “reason” on both sides, said that security was as essential for Israel as their occupied territories were for the Arabs. He proposed “slight” border changes and asserted that the Jerusalem problem cannot be dis-cussed until other disputed issues are settled. Sir Alec proposed a Mideast truce “on land, sea and in the air” and, as a first step, the withdrawal of all troops, at least beyond artillery range of each other. He suggested that United Nations troops be inserted into the areas evacuated by Israel with orders to stop any military incursions. Mr. Stewart said Middle East peace hopes were based on the Security Council’s Nov. 22,1967 resolution.
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