Israel Asks New Emergency Security Council Session on Gaza

Israel pressed the United Nations Security Council today for another “urgent” meeting on its complaint against Egyptian armistice violations along the Gaza strip border.

Taking full advantage of a report by the Egyptian-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission yesterday which condemned Egypt for the Nahal Oz aggression of a week ago, Abba S. Eban, chairman of the Israel delegation and his deputy, Mordecai R. Kidron, came to United Nations headquarters this morning to follow through vigorously on Israel’s request that censure against Egypt be voted by the Security Council.

Ambassador Eban and Mr. Kidron conferred for forty minutes with Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold. While they refused, upon leaving Mr. Hammarskjold’s office, to discuss the details of their conversation with the Secretary General, they did admit that the entire Egyptian-Israel border situation “was reviewed” at the conference.

MAC SUBSTANTIATES ISRAEL POSITION, EBAN SAYS

Mr. Eban is understood to have pointed out to Mr. Hammarskjold that the MAC decision on Nahal Oz provides full substantiation of Israel’s grievance against Egypt as voiced by the Israel representative at last week’s Security Council meeting.

The MAC report and a full statement of the situation he found upon his return to the Palestine trouble area have been sent to the Security Council by Maj. Gen. E.L.M. Burns, chief of the organization’s truce supervision apparatus. In that report, the Egyptian-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission is quoted as having ruled that Israel was guilty only of a “technical violation” by firing at Egyptian troops in the Nahal Oz area–but only in defense against aggression and in an effort to extricate Israel wounded, who had been pinned down by Egyptian fire. Mr. Eban is understood to have pointed out that the use of the phrase “technical violation”–the first time such a phrase has ever been used in a MAC decision–exonerates Israel fully in this instance.

(In a statement issued at UN headquarters in Jerusalem yesterday Gen. Burns admonished both parties that the incidents in the Gaza area had “resulted in a deteriorating situation that can and should be ended,” He called upon Israel and Egypt to exercise firm control over their forward troops so as to avoid acts of provocation or retaliation.)

The Israel delegation chief and his deputy went from Mr. Hammarskjold’s office to the office of Arkady A. Sobolev, of the Soviet delegation, this month’s council president. They presented a formal letter to Mr. Sobolev asking that he bring the Council together “urgently.”

The letter to Mr. Sobolev, signed by Mr. Eban, pointed out that since the last meeting of the Council the Mixed Armistice Commission had “substantively upheld” the Israel complaint and had “expressed concern at these repeated and continuous acts of aggression against Israel by Egypt.” Mr. Eban noted that the MAC decision had “vindicated” the report of the situation which he had presented to the last Council session.

Since then, the Eban letter pointed out, the MAC had condemned Egypt for two further violations and had been called into emergency session by Israel for yet another attack on an Israel patrol, in which two Israel soldiers died. He also cited a series of incidents of lesser importance, all involving infiltration or unprovoked firing from Egyptian territory in the Gaza strip. “The tension created by Egyptian assaults is mounting, and the armistice is gravely threatened.” Mr. Eban wrote.

One of the requests made by the Israel delegates, in the representations to the Secretary General and the Security Council president, was that the members of the Council be provided with copies of all MAC resolutions resulting from the various sessions held by MAC since March 26.

In addressing the Council last week, Mr. Eban had said: “Of the 16 serious incidents between March 26 and April 3, at least 11 have involved action by Egyptian armed units.” Egypt’s Council representative, Dr. Omar Loutfi, sneered at that assertion, implying that there was no evidence from the armistice commission pointing to the truth of Mr. Eban’s charges. Mr. Eban hopes that the Council will have copies of the MAC resolutions, in substantiation of the truth of Israel’s charges.