The Israel-Jordan mixed armistice commission today announced a peaceful settlement of the incident which broke out on Friday in the Arabuna region, eight miles west of Beisan, between Arab shepherds and Israel border patrols.
The two-hour gun battle in the Arabuna region started when Arab villagers from the disputed “triangle” area–an area reaching from the Jordan frontier through Nabilus and Jenin to Tulkarem–began to graze their cattle on border land claimed by Israel. The armistice commission immediately sent a mixed inquiry team to the scene with orders to investigate the disturbance and stop the fighting.
Today’s announcement by the commission says that a breach of the armistice line may have been committed by both sides owing to the fact that the demarcation line is not clearly defined. The commission called on both sides to take the most severe steps to avoid conflicts in the future.
One hundred and seven complaints were struck off the Jordan-Israel mixed armistice commission list at a meeting of a sub-committee of the commission. About 100 remaining complaints will be considered for possible cancellation. The delegations of Jordan and Israel, in agreeing to the removal of these complaints from the agenda of the mixed armistice commission, agreed also that this action in no way implied that the respective parties should not carry out investigations they consider desirable, passing the results on to the other party for the latter to take any action it thinks fit. Rights were reserved on all questions involving compensation.
At the same time, the deputy chiefs of staff of the armed forces of Jordan and Israel met and devised specific measures to reduce border incidents. They agreed to establish effective communications between the local commanders of both sides to ensure rapid interchange of information concerning marauders, and pledged mutual cooperation in apprehending such marauders. The question of the prompt return of prisoners was also discussed.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
