Growing Optimism That Hostilities Will Not Resume at Cease-fire Expiration Date

The prospect that Egypt would resume hostilities in the Suez Canal zone next month seemed to recede today as some details of Cairo’s reply to Israeli proposals became known here. According to informed sources, the Egyptian memorandum which was conveyed to Israel through United Nations mediator Gunnar V. Jarring, contained no hint of an intention to renew warfare when the current cease-fire expires on Feb. 5. Nor did it contain any hint that Egypt would ask for a meeting of the Security Council before Feb. 5 to revise the Council’s Resolution 242 of Nov. 22, 1967, the sources said. The latest reports confirmed developments reported yesterday by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency from the UN. However, the Egyptians are known to have reiterated their demand for an advance time table of Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories and to have expressed displeasure that the Israeli proposals did not yield on that matter and did not contain references to the future rights of the Palestinians.

But sources familiar with the memorandum said it did not constitute an outright rejection of Israel’s proposals, Some officials here saw in the Egyptian reply some evidence that Egypt may now be ready for the first serous peace negotiations with Israel since the 1967 Six Day War Israeli officials report that the feeling in the United States is that there is small chance of an early solution to the Middle East conflict because the two sides are still as far apart as ever. But Washington is said to agree that there will be no resumption of hostilities on Feb. 5. (In London, British diplomatic sources revealed today that according to their information, all sides–the Russians, Egyptians, Israelis and the Americans–are in agreement that the cease-fire should be extended for one month after Feb. 5. )