Eban Says Impasse in Jarring Mission Stems from Egyptian Intransigence

Foreign Minister Abba Eban declared today that there was documentary proof that the peace-seeking mission of the United Nations’ special envoy, Dr. Gunnar Jarring, had reached its present stalemate because of Egypt’s refusal to recognize Israel and negotiate a peace settlement.

Speaking at a press conference here, the Foreign Minister said that direct negotiations were the essence of the problem, and that refusal to negotiate meant refusal to recognize Israel’s sovereign identity which must be the starting point for any settlement. He said also that one reason that Israel insisted on direct negotiations with the Arabs was to avoid the lack of precision which he called an inherent quality of indirect or unilateral undertakings.

As an example of the dangers of communicating through intermediaries, Mr. Eban noted that on Jan. 28, 1950, Egypt notified the United States that it would occupy the islands of Tiran and Sanapir in the Tiran Straits without prejudice to international shipping rights. The United States communicated this to Israel. But after occupation of the islands on April 9, Egypt submitted an “addendum” which excluded Israeli shipping, Mr. Eban noted.

Foreign Minister Eban said that Israel was not initiating any move to bring the Middle East question back to the U.N. Security Council. But if Egypt does, he declared, Israel was confident of the support of world opinion. He termed hints by Egypt that it would be willing to implement the Security Council’s Nov. 22, 1967 Middle East resolution as an “international hoax and confidence game.” According to official Egyptian spokesmen, he asserted, borne out by conversations with Ambassador Jarring, Egypt would “implement” the resolution according to its own interpretation — without recognition of Israel, without an agreement, without peace and without granting Israel’s shipping freedom of passage through the Suez Canal. This attitude, he said, was contrary to the basic provisions of the Nov. 22 resolution and has been rejected by world opinion.

(United Nations sources said today that if the Cairo newspaper, Al Ahram. had correctly reported the Egyptian Government’s views in calling yesterday for an urgent Security Council meeting on the Middle East, the Jarring peace mission would be torpedoed. Al Ahram said such a session was needed because of the “negative results” of the Jarring mission. Dr. Jarring, who has been shuttling between Jerusalem, Cairo and Amman seeking a negotiations formula, obtained agreement by Israel to forego its demand for face-to-face talks with the Arabs without outside participation by taking part in a “Rhodes-type” negotiation with Dr. Jarring as chairman. On Sunday, Dr. Jarring told the Israel Government Egypt had refused to be a party to any talks, direct or indirect but the envoy said he was continuing his efforts.)

In reply to questions, Mr. Eban said he could not tell whether Egypt’s hard line was a recent development or whether it had been Cairo’s attitude all along but has only recently been exposed. He refused to comment on a suggestion that Egypt’s intransigence was the result of prompting by the Soviet Union. Israel, he said, has no contacts with the Soviet Union except through international agencies and Ambassador Jarring’s contacts have been directly with the Arab states.

Eban said that Israel was willing to negotiate separately with Jordan and the other Arab states. He said he did not know what Jordan’s attitude was since Ambassador Jarring had not yet brought a reply to his latest suggestions to Amman.

He said that Israel had agreed to the freeing of 15 merchant ships stranded in the Suez Canal since last June, but only if the vessels were restricted to the Canal’s southern exit. He said that since the time Egypt breached the cease fire agreement by trying to survey the northern reaches of the canal without Israel’s agreement, there had been no further contacts on the matter.