More acrid exchanges marked the second day of debate today over the status of Jerusalem during a session of the Security Council called on complaint of Jordan over Israeli eviction of Arab families and demolition of Arab-owned houses in the city’s eastern section but prospects reportedly were slight that Jordan and its Arab backers would win a Council order for sanctions against Israel.
(A major move in Israel’s efforts for administrative control over East Jerusalem took place yesterday, when Israel’s national police headquarters were moved from Tel Aviv to the old city, the New York Times reported. However, the timing of the shift was reported to be unrelated to the Security Council meeting. The Times said plans for the transfer were announced soon after the Six-Day War and that the scheduling for the shift was planned some time ago.)
Arab members at the United Nations were reported to have learned they could not get the needed nine Security Council votes for any resolution which included sanctions and were understood to have started consultations today on either a bid to get more votes or to settle for an effort to obtain approval of a Council resolution condemning Israel and demanding revocation of all Israeli measures altering the status of Arab portions of the old city. The Soviet statement at the first meeting yesterday omitted any reference to sanctions in demanding that the Council order Israel to “cease all acts aimed at Israelizing Arab Jerusalem.”
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