The Foreign Ministry today instructed the Israel Embassy in Washington to seek clarification from the Department of State concerning a statement issued by Assistant Secretary of State Alexis Johnson which, according to political observers here, apparently accepts the position of the United Arab Republic in maintaining the blockade of Israel shipping and ships trading with Israel from using the Suez Canal. (See statement on page 2)
Observers here stressed that the approach revealed by Mr. Johnson’s statement, which was contained in a letter to Joseph Curran, president of the U.S. National Maritime Union, seems to accept U.A.R. non-compliance with a specific resolution of the United Nations Security Council which called upon that country to lift her blockade of the Suez Canal against Israeli shipping and to comply with the provisions of international law. Observers here also pointed out that Mr. Johnson’s statement ignored the basic fact of Arab refusal to discuss a peace settlement with Israel.
Political sources here also expressed surprise over a reply to Mr. Curran on the blockade issue by U.N. Undersecretary Ralph Bunche in which Mr. Bunche declared that the United Nations could only act upon requests by specific governments and that no such requests had been received on the Suez blockade issue, from any government – not even from the Israeli government. It was stressed here that the Israel delegation to the U.N. has repeatedly raised the issue at meetings with Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, continuously urging action in the direction of implementation by the U.A.R. of the resolutions on the Suez blockade against Israel.
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