Israel today notified the Israel-Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission that it is prepared to admit about 200 Bedouins from Jordan as “a gesture of good will,” although it has not been proved that these Bedouin Arabs lived in Israel prior to the claim made by the Jordanian Government.
However, Israel made it clear that the Bedouins from Jordan will be admitted only if Jordan drops its charge that Israel had forced these people across the border. Israel rejects the Jordanian claim that these Bedouins had been either forced to evacuate Israel or had been “encouraged” to do so.
A similar request for admission, made through the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization by the United Arab Republic, involving about 200 other Bedouins, has been rejected by Israel. Israel has notified the UN Secretariat that it will not permit the entry of these Arabs from the South, unless they prove satisfactorily that they lived here prior to their alleged “evacuation.”
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