Israel gave its wholehearted support to a proposal of the United Nations Emergency Force to erect a physical, mined barrier along the Gaza-Israel frontier, Joseph Tekoah, head of the Israel Foreign Ministry’s armistice division, revealed this weekend.
However, now as in 1955 when the proposal was first voiced, Mr. Tekoah told newsmen, Israel insists that both sides of the barrier be patrolled and the Gaza side by UNEF. He continued to oppose any suggestion that UN troops be placed on Israel’s side of the barrier.
He lashed out at UNEF surrender last week to an Egyptian demand that the Gaza Strip border be patrolled by mixed patrols of UNEF and Egyptian-commanded police. He also hit out at those “who give directives to UNEF, ” charging that they do nothing to disabuse the Egyptians of the idea that UNEF is actually an “anti-Israel weapon.”
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.
