Bunche Quits Middle East After ‘most Constructive’ Talks

Dr. Ralph Bunche, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, completed a series of talks today with Israel and Jordan officials and left for New York to report to UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold.

He described as “most constructive” an hour-long meeting with top Israel Foreign Ministry officials this morning which reportedly covered a wide range of problems connected with the running Israel-Jordan dispute over access to the Mt. Scopus enclave behind Jordanian lines.

Dr. Bunche, who arrived here Sunday, previously met with Samir el Rifai, the Jordan Foreign Minister, in Amman, and with Premier David Ben Gurion in Tel Aviv. Dr. Bunche said today that he had come to Jerusalem for direct consultations with Maj. Gen. Carl C. von Horn, United Nations Chief of Staff. He added that during the visit he had “availed himself of the privilege” of visiting Messrs. Rifai and Ben Gurion.

Among the topics reportedly discussed at today’s meeting were a system of inspection of convoys, the transfer of books from the Hebrew University Library on Mt. Scopus and broader problems including Jordan’s refusal to implement Article VIII of the Mixed Armistice Agreement and Israel’s refusal to participate in regular plenary meetings of the MAC.

Article VIII establishes freedom of access for Israel to Mt. Scopus, resumption of normal cultural and humanitarian work at the Hebrew University and Hadassah institutions, access to the Wailing Wall in Old Jerusalem, the opening of the Bethlehem and Latrun roads and related issues.

Israel takes part in meetings of MAC subcommittees dealing with day-to-day matters like border sanitation, the return of infiltrators and minor incidents but refuses to attend plenary meetings on the grounds that Jordan has failed to implement decisions aimed at preventing major incidents.