The Syrian Government protested yesterday to the governments of the United States, Britain and France against the draining of the Huleh swamp and charged violation of its frontiers by the Jewish State, the Damascus radio announced today.
The broadcast, monitored here, stated that Col, Shishakly, Syrian President, had demanded in an interview with Untied Nations truce chief Maj. Gen. Vagn Bennike that all work on the reclamation project be halted immediately. The announcer quoted the Danish General as having told Col. Shishakly that he would study the problem, but that he would prefer that the matter be submitted directly to the UN for decision.
The Huleh project of the Jewish National Fund, designed to reclaim some 15,000 acres of swamp land in northeastern Israel, has been in the works for the past two years. From the earliest days its history has been stormy. First Syria and then Jordan protested and attempted to hamper the work. At one point Syrian troops invaded Israeli territory to try to force a halt. The Jordanians, beside protesting, restricted their activities to firing occasional shots at Israeli workers.
The major portion of the work on the Huleh project is currently being carried on by Construction Aggregates, Inc., of Chicago.
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