Prime Minister Levi Eshkol threatened here tonight to resign from his post as head of the Government if the central committee of his own party, Mapai, adopts a proposal by former Premier David Ben-Gurion for a new probe into the 1954 “security mishap” which culminated in the political downfall of Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon.
Mr. Eshkol made that threat during a stormy meeting here of the Mapai central committee, which held an emergency session on the issue. Meanwhile, the Cabinet, which was to have voted on the matter at its weekly meeting in Jerusalem today, postponed its action on the question.
The Premier told the central committee he was convinced that the reopening of the Lavon Affair would entail “an avalanche of tragedies which will hover over Israel for the next 15 years.” He insisted it was not Mapai which had initiated the new discussion, since the party had already decided the issue was a “a state matter, and not one of party interest.” If the Ben-Gurion demand is implemented, he said, “I will be unable to continue as Premier.”
Mr. Ben-Gurion was just as adamant. Should the Cabinet reject his demand for a new Lavon inquiry, he stated, “I will submit my case to the people.” Mr. Ben-Gurion had reduced his demands. He was willing to agree that the Government need not review the action of a 1960 Ministerial Committee which absolved Mr. Lavon of responsibility for the “security mishap.” But he persisted in his demand that the original events of 1954 be subjected to a new inquiry.
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