Gen. Moshe Dayan, Defense Minister of Israel, and King Hussein of Jordan appeared on separate segments of a British Broadcasting Corp. television interview program yesterday and indicated to an estimated 20 million viewers that peace in the Middle East was more remote than ever. They voiced contrary views on how peace could be achieved. Gen. Dayan maintained that it could be realized only through negotiated agreements between both parties and rejected any solution imposed by outside powers which, he said, would not be a real solution. King Hussein welcomed cooperation of the Big Powers in finding a solution but said it was not likely at this stage because Israel refused to accept the Nov. 22, 1967 United Nations Security Council resolution that called for its withdrawal from occupied Arab territories.
Gen. Dayan insisted that in any settlement Israel would have to retain control of the Straits of Tiran, that the Jordan River must remain Israel’s security border, and that Israel would never accept internationalization of Jerusalem. King Hussein was equally adamant on Jerusalem. He said the city could become a battleground if Israel claimed all of it and said that Jordan would never give up its rights there. Gen. Dayan did not think a new war would break out this summer, but said that if the Arabs were to attack they would be beaten again. He did not consider the French embargo on arms and spare parts to Israel a disaster. He said Israel would have to find other sources of supply and produce more military hardware itself. On the Arab refugee problem, he suggested the establishment of an international commission to try to find an objective solution. He said the commission should visit Israel, Iraq, Syria and Jordan and recommend where it would be most feasible to resettle the refugees. Israel could do little because it could not absorb a larger Arab minority than it already has, he said.
King Hussein, asked whether he could halt guerrilla activities against Israel from Jordanian territory, replied that he did not wish to take any such responsibility. Questioned about Israel’s alleged capability to produce nuclear weapons, the Hashemite ruler said, “We’ve always thought they had that capability and it is, I think, quite feasible.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
