Israeli sources expressed surprise today over Jordan’s complaint of alleged Israeli aggression in the Jerusalem area, then asserted that the only “action” in the area was some tree-planting.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the tree-planting was taking place in territory near Government House, formerly the residence of the British High Commissioner and now the headquarters of the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization.
The spokesman stressed that the planting was part of a general plan to create a “green belt” around new Jerusalem, adding that while the area around the house had been termed “no-man’s land” by the 1949 Israeli-Jordanian armistice agreement, subsequently the two countries agreed to divide the area for civilian activities.
On the basis of this subsequent agreement the spokesman said, Jordan had been permitted to build a new road to Bethlehem which crossed the no-man’s land.
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