The Cabinet said today that it will continue to study the latest Egyptian note, conveyed to Israel’s United Nations Ambassador Yosef Tekoah in New York last night by UN mediator Dr. Gunnar V. Jarring. The latest development in the Jarring talks occupied the Cabinet for most of its lengthy session today which was originally called to dispose of other day-to-day matters that had been postponed from last Sunday’s regular session. A government communique issued after the meeting said only that Foreign Minister Abba Eban had reported on the latest developments in the Jarring talks and that the discussion would continue at the next Cabinet meeting. The government maintained absolute secrecy on the contents of the latest Egyptian note. Political circles here said it contained nothing revolutionary which demanded a dramatic move by Israel. They indicated however that the government was closely studying the document to determine whether it contained a reply to Israel’s basic question, submitted to Cairo through Jarring two weeks ago, namely, whether Egypt is prepared to conclude a permanent peace with Israel embodied in a signed, contractual agreement. Political sources said that Egyptian statements needed very careful study because they usually contained words that seemed conciliatory but in fact conveyed nothing basically new in Egyptian policy.
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