The pending reply by Premier Levi Eshkol to President Kennedy’s latest letter was reported to have been discussed at the regular Cabinet meeting today which was attended by Israeli envoys to three key western posts.
The exchange began when David Ben-Gurion was Prime Minister and the Kennedy communications originally were addressed with Israel’s concern over its security situation. The envoys attending the session were Avraham Harman, Ambassador to the United States; Michael Comay, permanent head of the Israeli delegation to the United Nations; and Yaacov Herzog, the outgoing envoy to Canada.
The American President’s letters have been discussed at the highest governmental levels for the past 10 days. It was understood that the Cabinet was apparently unanimous on the content of Premier Eshkol’s proposed reply, which parallels the Ben-Gurion policy on undisclosed issues posed by President Kennedy–but differs in tone. It was also indicated that, when the reply is formulated and approved, it is not expected to be final, in view of the far-reaching implications for Israel’s security involved in any exchange between Israel and the United States.
SYRIAN SITUATION SEEN DETERIORATING; UNREVEALED ‘ACTIONS’ ON AGENDA
Gen. Zvi Tsur, chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, reviewed for the Cabinet the situation on the Syrian frontier. He cited a rapidly deteriorating situation resulting from Syrian shooting last Friday on a tractor in the demilitarized zone southeast of Lake Tiberias, the third successive day of shooting, and the eighth incident in the past three weeks.
Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, reported on efforts to obtain the release of three Israelis abducted last month by Syrians when their motorboat was seized on Lake Tiberias. The Israeli Cabinet decided on what action to take in the event the Israelis are not released by the weekend, but the nature of the planned action was not disclosed.
Premier Eshkol received today Gen. Odd Bull, chief of staff of the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization, to whom he expressed concern over the repeated Syrian aggressions. The Premier also said that Israel viewed with gravity the continued detention of the three abducted Israelis, and asked Gen. Bull’s immediate intervention to obtain their release. The meeting, which followed the Cabinet session, was arranged at the Premier’s request and was attended by senior members of the General Staff as well as by Mr. Comay and senior Foreign Ministry officials.
Premier Eshkol also conveyed to the Cabinet the contents of a letter from Chou-En-Lai, Premier of Communist China, calling for a conference of heads of state on a total ban on nuclear weapons and for their destruction. Communist China sent such letters to many countries immediately after the American-British-Russian nuclear test ban pact was signed in Moscow last week.
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