Mrs. Golda Meir, the Foreign Minister of Israel, received two enthusiastic rounds of desk-thumping applause from members of Parliament when she visited the House of Commons here this weekend.
Flanked by members of her staff and the Israel Embassy, Mrs. Meir sat in the Speaker’s Gallery during the first part of the daily question period. Speaker Marcel Lambert welcomed her on behalf of members of all parties. At mention of her name, members pounded their desks and cheered. Mrs. Meir arose and bowed.
Speaker Lambert extended “most sincere and heartfelt good wishes, not only for herself, but for her Government and the people of her country.” Again the members applauded and Mrs. Meir rose and bowed in acknowledgment. Later she was tendered a luncheon by the Speaker of the Parliament. During the day she addressed senior officials of the Canadian Ministry for External Affairs.
After tea with the Governor General, Mrs. Meir attended a cocktail party yesterday given in her honor by Israeli Ambassador Yaacov Herzog. The party was attended by members of the Canadian Cabinet, Parliament and members of the diplomatic corps.
Addressing a press conference, the Israel Foreign Minister said she was convinced the day would come when it would be possible to withdraw the United Nations Emergency Force from the Israel-Egyptian border. The question is one of special interest here since about 1,000 Canadians are service in the 5,000-man peace force.
Mrs. Meir said she could not hazard an opinion on how soon this withdrawal would be possible and said she had not seen any signs on the part of the United Arab Republic that it was prepared for an arrangement that would make this withdrawal possible. She said that the presence of the United Nations force had resulted in “quite a radical change in the border situation” from what it had previously been. She stressed that Israel was “prepared and anxious to go into peace negotiations with all our neighbors at any time and at any place.”
Mrs. Meir also revealed that in her talks with Prime Minister Diefenbaker and Foreign Secretary Green, she had discussed such international issues as disarmament.
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