The crisis within Premier Levi Eshkol’s Mapai Party over the 10-year-old Pinhas Lavon controversy deepened today, when the Premier told the Parliamentary faction of his party that he intended to reject former Premier David Ben-Gurion’s demand for a new inquiry into the issue.
The meeting, which lasted nine hours, was the forum for divergent views proposed in an effort to avert a head-on collision between the Premier and the former Premier. Mr. Ben-Gurion revived the controversy with a request to Justice Minister Dov Joseph for a new investigation into the circumstances surrounding a still unexplained disastrous security mishap in 1954 which led to Mr. Lavon’s ouster as Defense Minister.
One compromise proposal voiced at the long meeting was for an agreement to meet Mr. Ben-Gurion’s demand for a new inquiry into the 1954 affair but without involving an inquiry into the findings of a 1960 Ministerial Committee which absolved Mr. Lavon from responsibility for the security mishap. Mr. Ben-Gurion reportedly wants an inquiry into both the mishap and the Ministerial Committee’s findings. In response, the Premier said he knew of no new factual grounds for a renewed inquiry.
He also said that he would reject Mr. Ben-Gurion’s demands at the regular Cabinet meeting Sunday and that, on Monday, he would convene the Mapai Central Committee and ask for ratification of his stand. He indicated be would consider the vote an issue of confidence in this leadership.
The Premier was assured of a majority in the Cabinet, where he is certain of the support of most Mapai members, as well as those of Achdut Avodah and the National Religious party. The question was how Mapai would weather such a development which was considered likely to bring about the resignation of two Mapai Ministers, Development and Housing Minister Joseph Almogi and Dr. Dov Joseph, who presented to the Cabinet last week a motion for a new inquiry.
For the critical Sunday Cabinet meeting, Deputy Premier Abba Eban was recalled from the United Nations and Foreign Trade Minister Akiva Govrin from Mexico. (Mr. Eban left New York tonight, and is expected to return early next week.) Mrs. Golda Meir, the Foreign Minister, who has been ill, was scheduled to leave the hospital today but under the medical orders to remain at home for two weeks. If she is unable to attend the Sunday meeting, there was a possibility that the meeting would be held in her home.
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