Israel has initiated a new effort for a Korean peace settlement in a memorandum prepared by chief United Nations delegate Abba Eban and his principal adviser, Gideon Rafael. The memorandum, which has been in the works some three weeks, formulates new suggestions for peace negotiations and has been presented to the U.N. Good Offices Committee informally as an “unofficial” proposal.
The memorandum proposes that an overall peace settlement be reached through two separate conferences with the Chinese Communist government. A first conference set up by the Good Offices Committee would seek agreement on a cease-fire. With such an agreement arrived at, it would then decide on the make-up and agenda of a second conference whose aim would be a settlement of all the political problems involved in the Far East troubles.
The Israel delegation memorandum also pressed the argument that U.N. military forces should halt their northward drive at the 38th Parallel. The point is made that when the General Assembly, in its resolution of last October 7, called for “stabilization” of all Korea, this did not necessarily imply military stabilisation in North Korea.
The memorandum recalls that another paragraph of the resolution, which was an amendment offered by Israel, invited representatives of political elements in both North and South Korea to participate in the final peacemaking. The present Israel memorandum maintains that this indicated that political stabilization was contemplated in the North, not military conquest.
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