General Assembly Sets Thursday Deadline for Middle East Resolution

The fifth emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, convened on a Soviet demand on June 17, gave itself a July 20 deadline today to complete its deliberations on the Middle East crisis.

Abdul Rahman Pazhwak of Afghanistan, the Assembly president, said today that there were prospects, “however slight.” of agreement on a draft resolution to deal with the Arab-Israeli situation. So far, the Assembly has not been able to muster a two-thirds majority for any basic resolution to deal with the situation and, in a month of discussion and debate, has produced only two resolutions deploring Israel’s absorption of the Old City of Jerusalem and a resolution urging all nations to assist the war victims.

The Soviet delegation, which failed in its attempt to have Israel condemned as an aggressor, ordered to withdraw its forces from occupied territory and required to pay damages to the Arab states, sought today an understanding with the Latin American nations on a new resolution. The Latin American states had taken the position that a U.N. demand for Israeli withdrawal to the pre-June 5th positions must be accompanied by a termination of the state of belligerency.

Observers saw little possibility of agreement on a resolution by Thursday and predicted that the outcome would be that the General Assembly refer the Middle East matter back to the Security Council and authorize the Secretary-General to send a personal representative to the Middle East to act as a mediator. Among those considered most likely for this post were Gunnar Jarring, the Swedish diplomat who has served as mediator on Kashmir, and Endalkachew Makonnen of Ethiopia. this month’s president of the Security Council.