Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring’s return here next Monday has generated, at least in a few United Nations missions, an “atmosphere of guarded expectation” that his presence and that of Middle East foreign ministers may create the possibility of moving peace forward.
There is “no feeling that Dr. Jarring,” Secretary-General U Thant’s special Middle East peace envoy, “has reached a wall” in his efforts to bring the Arabs and Israel together, a well-informed source said today. There is no sign of weakening of Egyptian or Jordanian support for the mission, it was reported. The envoy has just completed another circuit of Middle East capitals.
The Arab world is expected to remain as actively anti-Israel in its political behavior in the coming 23rd General Assembly as in the past. The Middle East deadlock looms as a major issue facing the Assembly, which is convening Tuesday, and will probably surface in debates in the Assembly’s various organs. The Czechoslovakia issue is seen by some observers as the number one issue confronting the Assembly because questions of peace and the integrity of states in Europe will have worldwide repercussions, not excluding the Middle East, a diplomatic observer said.
Israel is preparing to combat Arab political maneuvering – from its usual power bloc disadvantage in the Security Council and General Assembly – without certain knowledge of what diplomatic tactics the Arabs are planning.
There are a number of open questions. Will the 22nd General Assembly, slated to reconvene Monday, vote to transfer its sole remaining agenda item, the Middle East, to the new Assembly? Such action is expected. Will the Arabs seek to activate the item and enter into a broad political debate on the Middle East in the Assembly? Or will the existence of the Nov. 22, 1967 Security Council peace resolution and the Jarring mission lead the Arabs not to press the issue? Will the question of Jerusalem come up?
There is every expectation that the “humanitarian” issue – the question of sending another Thant envoy to the Middle East to look into the situation of civilians in the occupied territories – will be raised. A Security Council meeting, called by Senegal and Pakistan, is slated on the issue tomorrow, and the subject could crop up in general debate in the Assembly. Israel is expected to hold fast to her position that no emissary will be permitted to examine the situation of the Arabs in occupied territories unless the Arab states consent to permit a similar probe of Jews within their national boundaries.
One diplomatic aim of Israel will be to limit the “danger” of an Arab political offensive, an observer said. Israel also will seek to avoid aggravation of resolutions already adopted and to avoid new ones. New military conflicts during the life of the Assembly could of course provoke new debate. There is no certainty that the Security Council would be inactive during the Assembly sessions.
Israel foresees no likelihood that the Arabs’ friends, including the Soviet Union, will relent in long-established support, and indeed will continue giving active encouragement to them. This is especially true in the case of Egypt because of its heavy military and other dependence on Moscow.
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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.
