United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold has sought to influence Israel to accept the “conditions” demanded by President Nasser of the United Arab Republic for transit of Israel cargoes through the Suez Canal, it was reported here today. In the light of Nasser’s latest violent anti-Israel speech, Israel is even less inclined to accept those conditions, authoritative sources here asserted.
The Nasser conditions, it was reported, were that Israel cargo would be permitted to pass through the Canal if all Israel exports were carried FOB Haifa, meaning the goods would already belong to the buyer, while imports would be CIF Haifa, meaning goods on board would belong to the exporter to Israel until arrival at Haifa. Israel officials had been cool to the conditions even before Nasser declared Sunday that “next time” the UAR would “exterminate” Israel.
It was reported here that when Mr. Hammarskjold met Saturday with Joseph Tekoah, permanent Israel delegate to the United Nations, the Secretary General failed to report any progress in his renewed efforts to induce Nasser to obey UN Security Council decisions on free passage for all peaceful shipping.
Israel officials reportedly considered Nasser’s Sunday speech the most violent since the 1956 Sinai campaign and as further proof of the complete worthlessness of any agreement with the UAR president. The officials reportedly considered that the violation at Nasser’s will of any agreement was implicitly indicated in statements about ambitions to destroy Israel.
(In Cairo, Nasser today delivered another violent speech, threatening Israel with war. At the same time the Baghdad Radio in Iraq, poked fun at Nasser’s boast he was awaiting a chance to meet Israel on the battlefield.)
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