Former Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd advised Israel in effect last night to hold on to occupied Arab territories until an effective peace is assured in the Middle East. The British Conservative Party leader however, exempted Jerusalem. “It was a great thrill to see Jerusalem re-united and this de facto situation must in due course become de jure,” he said. Mr. Lloyd spoke at a mass Israel Independence Day rally at Albert Hall, as the representative of the Conservative Opposition. The Labor Government was represented by Ray Gunter, Minister of Power, and the Liberal Party by its leader, Jeremy Thorpe. Minister of Labor, Gen. Y’all Allen, of Israel, was guest of honor at the event, sponsored by the British Zionist Federation.
Mr. Lloyd declared that Israel had demonstrated that she was able to guarantee law and order, freedom and security for the holy places. “This new situation must never be given up,” he said. He warned that the Gaza Strip “must never be permitted to become a base for murder and hatred.” He described the capture of the Syrian Gold Heights in last June’s war as “one of the great feats of arms of all times” and said, “if I were an Israeli, I would not give up the Syrian heights without an assurance of demilitarization in which Israel is a partner. I would not leave it to a third party.”
Gen. Allon declared that direct negotiations with Israel “could lead to peace with honor for Egypt or for any other Arab country, and peace with security for Israel.” He said he hoped that President Nasser’s recent statement that he considered negotiations with Israel as tantamount to surrender was not Egypt’s last word. “Otherwise, it is sad news, primarily for his own people.” But, the Labor Minister warned, “Israel will accept no solution which is short of a complete peace treaty accompanied by effective mutual security safeguards.” He said that, in the interim, Israel would favorably consider an agreement to re-open the Suez Canal to all shipping, including Israel’s. He declared that “as long as there is no peace treaty, we shall stay where we are.”
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