Israel Rejects Jordanian Claims at U.N. Security Council Session

Israel today rejected Jordanian claims that it was endangering international peace and security by scheduling a military parade to be held in Jerusalem in celebration of Israel’s Independence Day, April 20.

The Israeli insistence that the scheduled parade involved no real violation of the Jordan-Israel Armistice Agreement, and that Jordan’s charges were “minor” and “technical” was voiced before the Security Council this morning when the 11-member body met to consider a Jordanian grievance against the parade plans.

Abdel Monem Rifai, permanent representative of Jordan, told the Council that Israel’s parade plans amounted to “provocation” and showed an Israeli desire to try to “intimidate” Jordan. Mr. Rifai read off a list of heavy armaments, including 50-ton British tanks, heavy American equipment, anti-tank-missile carriages and other equipment which, he said, Israel planned to show during its parade in Jerusalem. He referred to Israel’s Independence Day as “The Day of Aggression” and the day of “the establishment of imperialist aggression in the Middle East. “

Invited to the Security Council table by the April president of the body, T.B. Subasinghe, of Ceylon, Arthur Lourie, Israel’s acting permanent representative to the United Nations, replied to the Jordanian charges.

Pointing out that there have been no Israeli-Arab grievances aired before the Council for the past two years, Mr. Lourie told the Council: “It is the more regrettable that, at a time when the world organization is confronted in other areas with grave issues, the Security Council should be required to devote time and attention to a minor matter of a technical character which in no sense involves a threat to international peace and security and which should never have been brought before this body.”

The parade, Mr. Lourie assured the Council, “will move under the watchful eyes of United Nations observers and, no doubt, of numerous foreign correspondents and visitors. All this equipment, having passed briefly in review, is to be removed in a matter of hours. ” He stressed that the equipment will be without ammunition and that, because Jerusalem is so close to the international demarcation line, no aircraft will participate in the parade.

To Mr. Rifai’s insistence that the Jordan-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission had already, on March 20, “condemned” Israel for its parade plans, the Israeli asked the Council whether it was not true that a complaint “must come into court with clean hands. ” He listed four separate occasions in the last 15 months when Jordan paraded military materiel in the Old City of Jerusalem, with no complaint by Israel because it was certain these Jordanian parades violated the armistice agreement only technically.

SOVIET DELEGATE SUPPORTS JORDAN’S REQUEST; SPEAKS AGAINST ISRAEL

“The fact is,” said Ambassador Lourie, “that this allegation of the Jordan Government, as it well knows, is without the slightest foundation. Israel’s borders with Jordan have in the past four years been calmer and less troubled than at any time previously. ” Mr. Lourie called attention to the fact that there were other, more serious violations of the 1949 armistice agreement for which Jordan was clearly responsible. He recalled that Jordan still does not allow Israel free access to its Holy Places in Jordanian territory and chokes off resumption of normal functioning “of the cultural and humanitarian institutions on Mount Scopus. “

Mr. Lourie suggested that the Council should refer the complaint back for reconsideration by the Mixed Armistice Commission.

Valerian A. Zorin, permanent representative of the Soviet Union, then addressed the Council, telling the body that the MAC decision has already been made against Israel and that “there has been a breach of the armistice agreement. ” Furthermore, he insisted, Israel’s delegate had not denied the violation nor promised that his Government would desist from staging the military parade. He called upon the Council to support Jordan’s “elementary” request for support of the MAC and to help prevent the Government of Israel “from any attempt to violate the armistice agreement and the decision of the MAC. “

After Mr. Zorin had spoken, President Subasinghe recessed the session until next Monday afternoon, since no other member of the Council was ready to continue the debate.

There is as yet no resolution before the Council, although Jordan, and the Soviet Union had made it clear they would like to see adoption of a resolution upholding the MAC’s “condemnation” of Israel. Some members of the Council implied, after the session, they hoped that no resolution may be necessary, expressing their tentative opinion that some form of compromise would be worked out over the weekend, so that both the Arab states and their Soviet supporters as well as Israel would be satisfied.

Several members of the Council noted particularly that Mr. Lourie had stated Israel’s willingness to give further “assurances” that the April 20 parade would be of a peaceful and “purely ceremonial” nature, and the Israelis suggestion that the entire matter be referred back for discussion “by the parties on the spot.”