The British Government has attempted to use its good offices to settle clashes between Israeli and Jordan forces in the demilitarized area on Mt. Scopus, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden today told the House of commons.
The question was raised by Maj. Tufton Beamish, Conservative, who charged that since June, 1950, Jewish police atop the height had fired on Jordan positions more than 50 times and had committed other abuses in violation of the Israel-Jordan armistice agreement. He added that Jordan protests to the United Nations staff had proved to be useless.
Sec. Eden pointed out that under the armistice pact the U.N. was responsible for security in the area and that complaints of violations should better be directed to the U.N. He also refused to comment on a point by Maj. Beamish that the agreement covering Mt. Scopus should have lapsed when hostilities ceased between the two states, asserting that question raised complex legal issue which were not for Britain to decide.
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