Israel Premier Moshe Sharett summoned the envoys of the Soviet Union, United States, Britain and France to his office here this morning to confer with them on the Egyptian refusal to release the Israel vessel Bat Galim and on Israel’s request to the United Nations Security Council to resume consideration of Israel’s complaint against Egyptian blockade of the Suez Canal,
Mr. Sharett pointed out to the envoys of the Big Four that the Israel-Egyptian Mixed Armistice Commission resolution that the Bat Galim’s entry into the Suez Canal did not violate the Israel-Egyptian armistice agreement, was a confirmation of Israel’s position. This decision, he said, opened the way for a clear-cut decision by the Security Council declaring the ship’s seizure illegal and ordering the ship and crew released.
The Premier stressed the common interest of all maritime nations in guaranteeing freedom of navigation of the Suez Canal. He said that Israel would not acquiesce indefinitely to a state of affairs where the vessels of all nations, except hers, were guaranteed the right of passage through the Canal. It has been three years since the Security Council resolution of 1951 upholding Israel’s right to passage through the waterway and Israel refuses to tolerate its victimization any longer, Mr. Sharett stressed.
Finally, Mr. Sharett drew the attention of the envoys to the illegality of Egypt’s insistence that it has belligerency rights to halt Israel shipping in the Canal. He also hit as “empty” the Egyptian assertion that the Constantinople Convention of 1888, under which the Suez Canal is administered, gives Egypt the right to interfere with Israel-bound traffic.
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