At a session of the United Nations Security Council today, which saw one of the most bitter clashes in the chamber, Syria proposed a resolution–for consideration by the Security Council–calling for the expulsion of Israel from the United Nations and the invocation of “economic sanctions” against Israel as punishment for Israel’s retaliatory raid on Syrian military posts from which Israeli fishermen have been fired upon on Lake Tiberias. The Syrian resolution also asked the Security Council to “condemn” Israel for its actions, to decide that Israel’s raid constituted a “violation” of the Israel-Syrian armistice agreement, and that it should be termed an “aggression” by the Council.
Counteracting the Syrian request, Ambassador Abba Eban, Chief of the Israel delegation, asked the Security Council “to take effective action against the “aggressive Syrian encroachments” on Israel territory and submitted documents proving that Syrian military authorities issued orders to fire upon Israeli fishermen and to regard Lake Tiberias as “Syrian territory.” Under the armistice agreement, all of Lake Tiberias is included in Israel territory, plus an eleven-yard strip of land on the side bordering Syria.
After listening to a sharp exchange of charges and counter-charges by the chief delegates of Syria and Israel, the Security Council decided to adjourn, subject to the call of its president.
The Syrian resolution was placed before the Council by its delegation chief, Ahmed Shukairy, at the conclusion of a long address which was openly called by Israel’s delegate Abba Eban “demagogic,” “arrogant” and “immoral.” At one point in his fulminations, Mr. Shukairy went so far that Sir Leslie Kmx Munro took the unusual step of interrupting the speaker with a comment that he was going beyond the complaint under discussion. Mr. Shukairy, undaunted continued in the same vein. The Syrian delegate placed the latest Lake Tiberias incident in the same category with earlier Israel attacks against Kibya and Gaza, for which Israel had been censured by the Council.
SYRIAN PLOR REVEALED IN DOCUMENTS PRESENTED TO SECURITY COUNCIL
Before the meeting opened, Mr. Eban circulated among the members of the Council a sheaf of documents captured by Israel during the December 11 raid showing that the Syrian high command had deliberately ordered violation of the armistice agreement by ordering its troops to fire on Israel shipping on the northeastern corner of the lake, which is wholly within Israel territory. Later, Mr. Eban underscored a point to the effect that Mr. Shukairy did not deny the authenticity of the documents but instead shouted his insistence that “Israel has no frontiers.”
Mr. Eban pointed out that the very report submitted today by Gen. Burns “confirms that Israel has proposed and Syria has rejected proposals for an agreement which would enable the question of “fishing rights” on the lake to be settled peacefully. The Israel delegate noted that Gen. Burns himself “mages is abundantly clear that we are speaking here of Israeli territory and of Israeli waters.” He challenged Mr. Shukairy’s reference to “Syrian territorial waters in the Lake of Tiberias” as an “astoundingly impudent expression” and as a “fantastic claim.”
While Mr. Shukairy squirmed and refused to discuss “unimportant” matters such as territorial demarcation Mr. Eban drove home a number of times that Syria’s entire case rests on the supposition that it can unilaterally violate the Syrian-Israel armistice agreement. On his own behalf, Mr. Eban asked “that the Security Council will include in its resolution a clear injunction to Syria to avoid interference with Israeli activities on the lake and in Israeli territory surrounding the lake; and also a clear statement forbidding Syria from exercising illicit controls on Lake Tiberias or its shores or indeed on any single inch of territory beyond the border defined by the general armistice agreement between Israel and Syria.”
U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL TO VISIT ISRAEL AND ARAB COUNTRIES
UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold will attempt to use his personal influence with the heads of the Middle Eastern governments, including Israel, to effect some kind of a rapprochement between the conflicting countries. At a news conference here today, Mr. Hammarskjold announced that he will leave soon for a two-month tour during which he will visit Tel Aviv, Cairo, Beirut and capitals of other Arab states.
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