Israel may bring the problem of the continuous Arab violation of its frontiers to the United Nations Security Council for solution, it was indicated here today. At the same time, a high Israeli military source stressed that the army was “prepared” to handle any further aggression like the two-hour exchange of rifle fire eat off here yesterday, by Jordanian sniping at Israeli civilians.
Yesterday’s incident in which four Israelis were wounded and at least four Arabs, including two members of the Arab Legion, were killed and five were wounded, was halted by the intervention of UN truce officials. However, Israeli sources indicated that they felt that the truce supervision machinery was inadequate at this time to end the series of increasingly-serious border violations and that what was needed was “high political action.”
The Israelis reported that at yesterday’s meeting of the Israel-Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission the Arabs, aided by the UN chairman, Gen. Bennet de Ridder, “whitewashed” themselves by voting Israel responsible of “trumped up” charges in connection with last Friday’s shooting of two Jewish guards near Wadi Fuken.
ISRAELIS SEEK REMOVAL OF U.N. OFFICIAL FROM TRUCE POST
Gen. de Ridder refused to put to a vote an Israel motion deploring and condemning the action of Arabs at that frontier spot. The Israelis charged that one of the two men murdered by the Arabs had previously been wounded and dragged across the border into Jordan territory where he was killed. When Gen. de Ridder refused to put these charges to a vote, the Israelis refused to participate in the vote on the Jordan-sponsored item. This is the latest in a series of clashes between the Israelis and the UN chairman, whose removal they seek.
Meanwhile, the Jordanians are reported to have locked a new protest with the armistice commission on yesterday’s shooting fray. The “battle” was joined at about 6 P. M. when an Arab Legionnaire on the wall of the Old City fired at and wounded an Israeli civilian in the Musrara quarter of the new city. Israeli sentries replied and then other Jordanians joined in and soon ballets were being exchanged all along the Jerusalem frontier. One Israeli source estimated that the Jordanians might have suffered as many as 25 casualties.
(In Washington yesterday, Israel Ambassador Abba Eban called on Henry A. Byroade, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, to bring to the attention of the United States Government the increasing number of violations of Israel territory by Jordan and Egyptian Arabs. Mr. Eban asked the U.S. to bring to bear its full influence with the Arab states to get them to abide by the armistice pacts and UN decisions on Palestine.)
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