Israeli and Egyptian negotiators meeting here remained dead-locked today on the issue of the disengagement of forces on both banks of the Suez Canal. Gen. Aharon Yariv, the chief Israeli negotiator, and his Egyptian counterpart, Gen. Mohammed Gemassi, agreed to meet again Wednesday. But that apparently was the only point on which they agreed. Today’s meeting was the one that was postponed yesterday. It had been described as crucial and newsmen waited on both sides for some announcement of progress. All they got was the statement by a UN spokesman that the meeting was a “good one.” He did not say what he meant by “good.”
The continued adamancy of both Israel and Egypt over the pullback of their forces dissipated hope in Jerusalem that the final cease-fire problem would be resolved before the scheduled Geneva peace conference starts Dec. 18. Well-placed sources in Jerusalem said that if today’s meeting failed to make any progress, the issue would be transferred to Geneva. This means that the Israeli and Egyptian armies will be locked in dangerous confrontation when the peace talks start.
Egypt so far has rejected several Israeli proposals for a mutual withdrawal of forces. The latest one called for Egypt to remove its heavy armor from the east bank of the Suez Canal in return for Israel’s evacuation of its west bank salient, Israel would permit Egypt to keep a lightly armed policing force on the east bank, in effect a partial demilitarization. The Egyptians insist on retaining their armored force–about 400 tanks–on the east bank and demand an Israeli pullback to the Mitlah and Jiddi passes in mid-Sinai, According to one source, Egypt wants Israel to commit itself to a total withdrawal from Sinai. Israel says Egypt is trying to get Israel to accept its terms before the peace conference begins.
Israeli and Egyptian forces were reinforcing their positions along the Suez-Cairo road even as their respective generals were in the midst of negotiations. Considerable activity was seen behind the Israeli lines. Two Israeli trucks loaded with coils of barbed wire drove past the UN checkpoint today toward the front line positions. Further back along the road Egyptian soldiers were digging new emplacements near the roadside and truck-mounted rockets could be seen in the distance.
Meanwhile, it was reported that the Soviet Union, in a message to the Arab summit meeting which opened today in Algiers, pledged its readiness to contribute to conditions for “authentic peace in the Middle East based on justice.” The message said that more than ever before, the fate of peace in the Middle East depended on the concerted policy of the Arab countries together with other forces for peace. The summit meeting is discussing the upcoming Geneva peace conference, the Arab oil boycott on which all of the states are not of a single mind, and the thorny issues of the future of Jerusalem and the Palestinian problem. While the participants are seeking a common Arab front to present at Geneva, the Arab world remains divided. The Algiers meeting is being boycotted by Jordan, Libya and Iraq.
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