Premier Golda Meir announced on television tonight that out of 80 Israeli soldiers missing on the Syrian front, 65 were named as prisoners of war on the list that U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger brought from Damascus today. She said 62 of the POWs are Israeli soldiers and three are “Arab citizens” of Israel. A later announcement described the three as civilian guards.
The 18 Israeli soldiers not named are still listed as missing. Mrs. Meir said there was evidence that some of the missing men were killed in combat and pledged that efforts will be made to determine the fate of the rest. In the meantime, she said, the army has informed the families of the POWs and the missing men of their fate.
“The people of Israel lived with deep concern for the fate of the POWs from the moment it was informed of their captivity until the message that they were alive.” Mrs. Meir said. “However, the joy was mixed with sorrow,” she added. “We all participate in the agony of those families whose sons are not on the POW list.” The Premier expressed hope that the POW list was the first step toward the release of the soldiers. “We shall not cease our efforts until each one of our sons comes back from captivity,” she said.
The Premier expressed thanks to Kissinger for his efforts to obtain the POW list and to arrange for an exchange of prisoners. She said that Israel is prepared to exchange the Syrian POWs it holds in exchange for the Israeli POWs at “any moment.” She also expressed Israel’s willingness to do its utmost for a disengagement agreement on the Syrian front. She said Israel would submit its ideas on disengagement to Kissinger on Friday to be conveyed “personally” to the Syrian government.
GLUED TO RADIOS AS NAMES ARE BROADCAST
Following the television broadcast, the Premier made the same announcement over the State Radio. Her speech was followed by an army spokesman who read the full names of the 62 POWs and the three civilian guardsmen. The names were read in an alphabetical order, making people in too many Israeli houses hold their breath in a prayer that their relatives are on the list. Eighteen families received the bad news that their sons were still missing. The messages were delivered by army representatives to the families.
According to American sources in Jerusalem, Mrs. Meir burst into tears when she received the list from Kissinger at their first meeting this afternoon after he arrived from Damascus. The list was delivered to the army headquarters and subsequently to each family individually.
The same sources said the White House announcement of the list today was agreed upon with the Syrians at an earlier stage. The number of prisoners was roughly known to both the Americans and Israelis. It now appears that seven Israelis died in captivity. Unconfirmed reports have it that the Syrians explained they had to burn the bodies because they were causing infectious diseases. Mrs. Meir’s obvious effort to play down the suspicion that the soldiers were murdered was interpreted here as an effort toward conciliation.
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