Israel Government sources today expressed the belief that Jordan will agree to accept the invitation of United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold to meet representatives of Israel in Jerusalem, but may at the same time attempt to stall the conference by blocking acceptance of a mutually agreeable agenda.
The invitation to an Israel-Jordan conference, which was extended by Mr. Hammarskjold to Israel and Jordan during the week-end, stipulated that the agenda of the parley should be decided on at the conference itself. If it proved impossible to agree on the agenda, the conference obviously could not continue, Mr. Hammarskjold said.
Government circles here today indicated that Israel Premier Moshe Sharett will ask Mr. Hammarskjold to call the meeting between Israel and Jordan, invoked by Israel under the terms of the Israel-Jordan armistice agreement, as soon as possible. Mr. Hammarskjold, who offered to act as chairman of the conference, urged Israel and Jordan to suggest a date for opening the talks and said that they would be limited to concrete issues arising from implementation of the armistice pact.
In his letter to both governments, the UN Secretary General said that in his opinion the conference should be restricted to “concrete issues of limited scope arising out of the implementation of the Armistice Agreement. ” Israel, he went on, has accepted that view.
Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, former Acting Mediator in Palestine, who helped negotiate the armistice agreements, may be present at the conference with Mr. Hammarskjold, it was reported here. Dr. Bunche’s presence was seen as an aid in the direction of lessening Israel-Arab tensions.
It was also noted here that Israel’s agreement to Mr. Hammarskjold’s phrasing of the conference call limiting its scope and leaving its agenda open, has improved Israel’s position since the Secretary General is now in a position to conduct the conference in such a manner as to force Jordan to accept some sort of agenda, even if it is “limited.”
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