Government Postpones Decision on Interim Arrangement Pending Clarification from U.S.

The Israel government is holding up its decision on interim arrangements for reopening the Suez Canal pending clarification from the United States on the key matter of security guarantees for Israel, it was learned today. Specifically, Israel wants to know what steps will be taken to ensure that no Egyptian forces cross the waterway in the event that Israeli forces pull back any distance from the canal’s east bank. Israel has made it clear that it would never agree to an arrangement enabling Egyptian troops to cross the canal. The extent of any Israeli pull-back is one of the subjects under top level discussion here at the moment. It is believed however that Israel will never unilaterally withdraw its forces beyond a point where they would lose effective control of the canal banks. The initiative for an interim arrangement came from Washington. Israel refuses to risk another situation in which it would be presented with an Egyptian fait accompli. They believe that since Washington is anxious for some sort of arrangement to break the present political impasse in the Mideast, it must bear the burden of providing iron-clad security guarantees for Israel. Premier Golda Meir who has taken several days off for the Passover holiday, will preside over the discussions later this week from which a decision is expected to emerge.