Neither side in the Middle East dispute nor any of the Big Powers want United Nations peace envoy Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring to end his mission, although so far it has accomplished little or nothing toward bringing Israel and the Arab states to the peace table, it was reliably reported here today. But sources close to the Israel Government are increasingly concerned that the latest “peace offensive” by Egypt’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad may gain credence abroad. What the Egyptians are after is not a peace treaty with Israel but some sort of formula for an armed peace such as the one that followed the 1949 armistices agreements, they said. Mr. Riad’s talk of “sweet reason” head in several European capitals recently may influence other governments toward accepting the Egyptian viewpoint, the sources said.
Foreign Minister Abba Eban met with Dr. Jarring in The Hague last week and reported to the Cabinet today on his latest talk with the UN emissary. It was reliably learned that Dr. Jarring will submit only an interim report to Secretary General U Thant next month, not a final report, and that he will not ask for a change in his terms of reference which seek to promote an agreement between both sides in the Middle East conflict. It is believed here that Dr. Jarring will continue to occupy himself with marginal questions such as the release of 15 merchant ships that have been stranded in the Suez Canal shutdown since June, 1967. Success in that effort might improve the atmosphere sufficiently to further negotiations on more substantive matters, observers here said.
It was learned that Dr. Jarring brought up with Mr. Eban the so-called Allon plan for peace with Jordan and Defense Minister Gen. Moshe Dayan’s remarks at a Labor Party caucus last week urging Israel to reject the Security Council’s Nov. 22, 1967 resolution on the Middle East. Labor Minister Yigal Allon had proposed partitioning the West Bank into Israeli security zones and an autonomous Arab enclave. Mr. Eban is reported to have told Dr. Jarring that neither the Allor plan Gen. Dayan’s reported remarks have official standing. He reiterate to the UN envoy that Israel’s policy remains unchanged and that Israel considers that anything and everything can be discussed in direct talks with the Arab governments.
Alarm over the influence that Mr. Riad may be having centered on his statements at a press conference in Oslo yesterday. He said that Egypt fully accepts the Nov. 22 resolution including its provisions for freedom of shipping. He did not specifically mention the Suez Canal in that connection. He also said that the Arab summit conference at Khartoum last August did not preclude peace with Israel. According to Mr. Riad, “in Arabic there is one word for both peace and a peace treaty” and what the Khartoum conference decreed was that there should be no formal peace with Israel.
It was reliably learned here that some Western nations, including Denmark and The Netherlands, which have been conspicuously friendly toward Israel, are advising Israel not to “miss the opportunity” that they believe Egypt is offering with its “soft” line and to abandon its insistence on direct talks with the Arabs. Israel has stated, however, that it will not accept the formula of an armed peace reached through intermediaries, as suggested by Mr. Riad. Furthermore, Israel’s friends are being told, Israel does not accept Egypt’s insistence on the evacuation of all territories captured in last June’s Six-Day War. Israel says this is not a provision of the Security Council’s resolution.
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