Ambassador Eric Johnston today informed President Eisenhower that Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel have accepted the principle of international sharing of the waters of the Jordan River and are prepared to cooperate with the United States in working out details of a mutually acceptable development program.
President Eisenhower requested Mr. Johnston to return to the Near East to seek further reconciliation because the findings of the recent trip were considered so promising. Mr. Johnston will go within the next few months.
Progress made during negotiations just concluded, said Mr. Johnston, clearly indicated a desire to evolve a workable plan for economic development of the Jordan Valley despite outstanding Arab-Israel political issues. An early understanding of all aspects of such a plan is now a possibility, he declared. The plan involves the acceptance by the Arabs and Israel of the following principles, announced by Ambassador Johnston:
1. Waters of the Jordan River system should be shared equitably by the four states in which they rise and flow. This principle was characterized as implicit in both the Arab and Israel plans.
2. A neutral impartial authority should be created to supervise withdrawals of water from the river system in accordance with the division ultimately accepted by all parties. The precise nature of such an authority remains to be determined. (State Department sources said the authority might be a neutral group or a United Nations agency).
3. Amelioration of the condition of the Arab refugees from Palestine should be a principal objective of the irrigation program for the Jordan Valley.
4. Broad lines of understanding as to the total program should be reached at the earliest possible time, not only in the interest of the refugees but in the interests of economic progress and stability in the area.
5. Storage of irrigation waters for the valley in Lake Tiberias “will be considered open-mindedly” by all parties, when progress in developing the valley indicates the necessity of using the lake as a principal reservoir.
Mr. Johnston indicated he made it clear to Israel that the Litani River will not be included because the goal was not regional development but “watershed development.” He said Israel understands his views on this as indicated by Premier Moshe Sharett’s “very constructive” press conference.
Mr. Johnston made known he felt that the water problem was so near solution that projects like Bnot Yaacov could wait. The position has been taken by him that Bnot Yaacov is a riparian issue and that the countries involved would have to agree to the resumption of work. He said the matter was before the United Nations Security Council and not a question with which he was immediately concerned because he sought achievement of a broader goal.
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