Prospects of an Israeli-Egyptian armistice receded Today as it became apparent that the Rhodes conference was floundering in technical difficulties, Reuters reported today from Rhodes.
Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, acting Palestine mediator, saw the Egyptian delegation today in an effort to overcome differences which were tarring the way to a meeting star in the day between the two military staffs.
Hopes for the success of the conference, which for almost three weeks has been swaying between success and failure, had risen in the past few days as military discussions got under way. But they fell again when the military chiefs rose after four-hour session last night without fixing the time for the next meeting, Reuters said. A high conference source said today that some progress had been made in the last two days on drafting the armistice lines but had been halted by the adamant stand of both sides on certain positions, the British news service reported.
Elias Sassoon, the Israeli delegation’s expert on Arab affairs, returned here, today after a fortnight’s visit to Israel. Usually well-informed sources said his return indicated that he might be expecting other Arab arrivals and wanted to be on hand to advise the delegation.
Dr. Bunche’s legal adviser, Dr. Constantine Stavropoulos, who began a tour of the Arab capitals yesterday, today arrived in Damascus where he conferred with Syrian Khaled Khaled el Azem. He is also expected to make contact with the U.N. Conciliation Commission in Jerusalem.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
