Premier Levi Eshkol told Parliament today, as a cease-fire prevailed on all Israeli fronts, that Israel would never return to the conditions which existed before the third Arab-Israel war erupted on June 5. The Prime Minister called on the defeated Arabs to make peace. He said a new situation had been created by Israel’s victories which could lead to direct negotiations between Israel and the Arab states.
Declaring that Israel had the right to defend itself and would no longer permit exposure to Arab sabotage and murder, the Premier stressed that “for the sake of history,” when Israel had fought again for its life, only its sons had waged the war. No other nation, he declared, had fought on Israel’s behalf.
Before the Premier spoke, it was indicated that Israel would not consider any withdrawals from occupied territory on the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, Jordan and Syria except through direct bilateral talks with each individual Arab country in connection with efforts for final peace settlements. On this basis, informed sources said, Israel was ready to discuss all territorial issues, with the exception of Old Jerusalem and the Sharm-El-Sheikh positions at the lower end of the Sinai Peninsula which dominate the Strait of Tiran.
It was generally believed here that the first Arab ruler likely to start such bilateral talks would be Jordan’s King Hussein who, after the fierce battle waged by Jordan’s Arab Legion, could not by any flight of Arab imagination be accused by other Arabs of lacking in inter-Arab solidarity. The point was made that Israel was in no great hurry about the start of such bilateral talks. It was suggested that if the Arab rulers should fail to open negotiations, Israel could and would continue the status quo indefinitely if necessary.
The Israeli Government announced that the war had cost Israel 679 dead and more than 2,500 wounded, 255 of them seriously. Those killed in action included 250 in the Sinai Peninsula campaign, 100 in the Gaza Strip battle, 170 in the fight for the Old City of Jerusalem and 80 in the final two days of battle against Syria. The Air Force lost 20 pilots.
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