French diplomats are trying to persuade Israel to accept the idea of a Middle East settlement worked out by the Big Four powers, a diplomatic move Israel has so far firmly rejected. The French effort, which has been made on an ambassadorial level, depicts Paris as less pro-Arab than the Soviet Union and flexible on territorial and other matters. Israel’s position has been that there was no substantial difference between the French and Soviet stands because both wanted to impose a solution of the Mideast crisis.
It was learned today that the director-general of the French Foreign Ministry summoned Israel’s Ambassador to France, Walter Eytan, to a meeting at the same time that the French ambassador in Jerusalem called on Gideon Rafael, director-general of the Israel Foreign Ministry.
The French have argued that a settlement worked out by the Big Four would be the only kind acceptable to Egypt. France no longer appeared to demand an Israeli withdrawal to the lines of June 4, 1967 before any other matters are discussed and appeared willing to leave open the questions of Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. France indicated that in return for a partial Israeli withdrawal, it would press Egypt to agree to free Israeli passage through the Suez Canal. The French approaches were believed by observers here to have been prompted by the fear that outright rejection by Israel of Big Four peace efforts would lead the United States to conclude that such efforts were impracticable.
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