A five-point plan to serve as a basis for an Arab-Israel peace settlement has been outlined by Israel to the State Department, it was learned here today. The plan makes it clear that Israel rejects arbitrary cession of territory or resettlement of Arab refugees inside the Jewish State. However, on a basis of mutuality and reciprocity within the framework of a general peace settlement, Israel has notified the State Department of its readiness to consider:
1. Minor mutual boundary adjustment.
2. Free port facilities at Haifa with transit rights for Jordan.
3. A plan to afford a transit arrangement linking Jordan with Egypt across the Negev. but without cession of any territory or compromise of Israel sovereignty in any way.
4. Affirmative attitude toward compensation of Arab refugees along lines outlined august 26 by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles.
5. Agreement to the Johnston Plan for the Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers involving release of Israel water to the Arabs.
It was made clear that a settlement offering the Arabs these advantages would require simultaneous Arab extension of parallel facilities to Israel and celebration of the Arab boycott and blockade activities.
Israel circles here said they have absolutely no evidence that the Arabs want peace they feel a U. S. security guarantee applied to present boundaries would increase ultimate peace prospects. If nothing is done by Summer, Israelis warn, growing Egyptian military strength will make the situation worse than ever.
Israel circles here favor in principle the support by the United States of projects like the Aswan Dam in Egypt. But the Israelis are asking if Egypt hasn’t blackmailed the United States and whether the dam is a reward to Egypt for signing the Czech arms deal The Israel view on the dam is that if the United States is to lend generous financial support the West should extract something in return from Egypt as a contribution toward regional peace, cooperation with the Johnston Plan, etc.
It is felt that nothing can be settled finally by “remote control ” A third party may convince parties to meet, the Israelis think, but it is up to the people directly concerned to work out the final solution face to face. Israel circles revealed that Israel today is working more closely with the United States than with Britain, mainly because of the Guildhall speech by British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden.
Abandonment or the cutting off of the port of Elath will never be envisaged, according to the Israel viewpoint. Israel rejects any notion of a “land bridge” across the Negev that would involve anything other than a juridical decision on transit rights.
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.
