Aubrey S. Eban, chief Israeli representative to the U.N., and Ambassador-at-large Dr. Philip C. Jessup of the U.S., today hailed the Egyptian-Israeli armistice accord as a great tribute to the United Nations and to Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, acting mediator, who negotiated the agreement.
In a statement made here, Eban termed the agreement an important landmark in the relations of Israel with the United Nations and with the Arab world. He lauded the part played by Dr. Bunche in reaching the agreement.
In a separate statement on the overall U.N. picture, Dr. Jessup, speaking at Yale University today, said the U.N. ought to take “as much pride in the Palestine victory of Bunche as we do in the victories of Patton or Mark Clark. Without U.N. action,” Jessup said, “there might well have been much bloodier fighting in Palestine, the involvement of other nations and even the possibility of a minor war” In the Middle East.
In his statement Eban said the Rhodes agreement vindicated the Israeli position that the problem could be solved by direct negotiations. He added: “We look forward hopefully to successful armistice negotiations with other Arab states and to the early transformation of the armistice into a final peace settlement by agreement between the parties.”
Following the release of Eban’s statement, Israeli circles here said that Israel’s new application for U.N. membership is “imminent.”
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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.
