The Government of Israel is prepared “to sit down tomorrow with each and all of the Arab states” to convert into pacts of peace existing armistice agreements, it was asserted here last night by Col. Moshe Perlman, director of the Office of Information of the Government of Israel.
The reply of the Arab states to Israel’s offer for direct negotiations, Col. Perlman stated, will be the “surest test of their sincerity and their intentions. They have an opportunity of showing to us and to the world whether they really want peace and stability in the Middle East or whether they propose to pursue their aggressive policy of murder and pillage, sowing disruption and strife, with possible explosive results in the Middle East.”
The offer to negotiate was made by the Israel official, on behalf of his government, at a State of Israel Bond dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Referring to the recent clash between Egypt and Israel in the Gaza area, Col. Pearlman asserted that Middle East stability is “generally endangered by the insistence of the Arab Government in maintaining a state of war with Israel.” He called upon the Security Council of the United Nations to consider the Gaza incident in the context of the “mounting series of aggressive acts conducted by the Egyptians against Israel in the last few months.”
“The latest eruption on the border in which a number of Egyptian troops were killed has produced a howl from the Egyptian Government which declares a state of war but which seems unwilling to face the consequences of aggressive acts and statements, “he said.
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.
