Israel Foreign Minister Reports to Parliament on Huleh; Promises Co-operation with U.N.

Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett told the Knesset today in winding up the debate on the Huleh situation that the Government of Israel was ready to meet United Nations Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. William E. Riley at his earliest convenience for clarification of the “oral misunderstanding” which Gen. Riley reported to the Security Council this week.

Gen. Riley had reported that owing to an “oral misunderstanding” of talks he had had with Israeli authorities on May 21, they had assumed he had agreed to Israel resumption of work in the non-disputed areas of the demilitarized zone after a 24-hour stoppage. Mr. Sharett told the Parliament that the minutes of the two meeting with Gen. Riley clarifying the whole situation were not challenged by the U.N. truce chief. He added that Israel would continue its policy of the closest cooperation with the United Nations for a clarification of the situation.

The government spokesman asked the members of the House to take the long view in dealings with the United Nations. Israel, he declared, will complete the humanitarian and colonization task of draining the Huleh marshes since, even in Gen. Riley’s view, this was not a Syrian matter but a problem between the United Nations Chief of Staff and the Israel Government.

Representatives of all parties spoke in the debate. Peretz Bernstein, of the General Zionists, said Israel’s political failure was the result of the state’s economic weakness. Mordecai Ben Tov, Mapam leader, argued that the Israeli set-back in the United Nations on the Huleh issue was the result of Premier David Ben Gurion’s “enslaving visit” to the United States. Spokesmen of the Religious Bloc, which formerly supported the Government, criticized its handling of the Huleh question. No votes were taken by the Knesset this week on any issues discussed. This was at the request of the Mapam Party, a majority of whose members are attending a pre-election party conference at Haifa.

CALLS SECURITY COUNCIL DECISION ON HULEH “A MEASURE OF APPEASEMENT”

Opening the debate last night, Mr. Sharett told the Israel Parliament that the Security Council resolution ordering Israel to cease work on the Huleh reclamation project was a measure of appeasement that would fail to bring peace to the Middle East. The legal basis for the Security Council’s order to cease the reclamation work was “shrouded in doubt and its moral efficacy worthless,” he stated.

“The Security Council, standing in the way of progress and development, barring the way to a project aimed to prevent waste of soil, water and health, cannot raise the prestige of the highest United Nations organ,” he declared, “especially when it acts under pressure of fire from the other side.

“Just as the international policy of appeasement failed to bring the desired results and did not prevent a world war, so this small-scale appeasement in the Middle East will not encourage the Arab states to seek peace with Israel. On the contrary, on the following day, the Syrian Premier announced that there will never be negotiations for a peace treaty with Israel and the Israel Government has warned all the powers of the danger of such development and has undertaken all the necessary security measures.”

The Israeli Minister warned that the “Security Council resolution has also encouraged the leaders of the Arab League to build the league on negative bases which will not assist peace but will widen the field of dispute.” He declared that despite the unfavorable nature of the resolution, “as a freedom-loving nation, we are obliged to adhere even to an unjust decision of the Council.”