Assistant Secretary of State Lucius D. Battle, who is in charge of the State Department’s Near Eastern Division, called on Israel and the Arab states today to be “flexible and moderate” in their approach to peace with “accommodation to the legitimate interests and psychological needs of the vanquished.” The latter injunction, obviously addressed to Israel, appeared to be an appeal to Jerusalem for flexibility on the issue of direct negotiations with the Arabs.
Mr. Battle addressed the ninth annual policy conference here of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. President Johnson, in a message to the conference, repeated his June 19, 1967 pledge that the United States would do everything in its power to help restore “peace and justice” to the Middle East.
The conference, however, adopted a policy statement insisting that direct negotiations were the only effective method to achieve an Arab-Israel peace. It said that peace depended primarily on the recognition by Arab leaders of Israel’s existence, of the futility of further conflict and the benefits of mutual cooperation in the region.
Mr. Battle noted that the United Nations’ special envoy. Dr. Gunnar Jarring ” is attempting to bridge the gap between the disputants and the United States is urging the parties concerned to be flexible and moderate and to take no actions which might imperil the mission of Ambassador Jarring.” He quoted President Johnson as appealing to both sides not to adopt rigid views and urging that no method that might lead to peace be excluded from being tested.
President Johnson stated in his message, as he did last June 19, that “what will be truly decisive in the Middle East will be what is said and what is done by those who live in the Middle East.” He added. “I also pledged that the American Government and the American people will do their part in every forum, at every level, at every hour, to help restore the role of peace and justice to those troubled lands. Your own deliberations are a significant contribution to that cause and I wish you the utmost success.”
The conference policy statement voiced alarm at the resupply of arms to the Arab states by the Soviet Union and called on the United States to furnish Israel with modern jets and arms to deter aggression. It declared that future boundaries should be defined by the states directly concerned. It noted that in Jerusalem, the people of Israel were reunited with their ancient capital and would respect the holy places of all faiths. The conference went on record in urging that any program of compensation for Arab refugees must also consider Jewish refugees from Arab lands.
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