Egypt Mum on Pending Conference with Israel; Talks Due Today

United Nations truce headquarters here is still without word whether the Egyptian Government will send its representative to the meeting scheduled for tomorrow at Kilometre 95. At this meeting, Israelis, Egyptians and the UN truce supervisor, Maj. Gen. E. L. M. Burns, are due to make a new attempt at reaching agreement on an agenda for talks examining proposals for easing tension along the Gaza frontier.

An Israel spokesman today indicated that Israel is fully prepared to send its delegation to the Gaza border point, 95 kilometers (60 miles) from Jerusalem, where joint talks have been held in the past and should be held tomorrow. The Israelis, who still have not heard from Gen. Burns whether the talks are on, noted that the Egyptians forced postponement of the talks after two days of meetings last week.

The Egyptians, the Israel spokesman pointed out, had refused to accept Israel proposals on an equal footing with all other proposals offered for an agenda. This, he insisted, is a prerequisite for Israel participation.

He noted that now the Egyptians, attempting to camouflage their refusal to cooperate in easing tension, aver that the Israelis had insisted on Gen. Burns’ forwarding a proposal by the Israelis that the Egyptian authorities withdraw orders to their forces to fire on Israel patrols inside Israel territory. When Gen. Burns told the Israelis that the Egyptians said such orders did not exist, the Israel spokesman said, the Israelis accepted the UN truce chief’s report as an assurance which disposed of the issue.

Beside this fact, the spokesman said, the proposal for cancellation of orders to fire on patrols was only one of four points in an Israel proposal. What reduced two days of conferences to naught, he again stressed, was the Egyptian refusal to consider any of the Israel points on a par with other proposals before the negotiators.