Syria Opens Fire on Israeli Settlement; One Settler Wounded

Syrian gunners at Urfiya opened light machinegun fire today on members of Kibbutz Gonen who were making a routine check of the settlement’s fences near the Syrian border. One of the settlers was wounded. The Syrian shooting ended after Israeli forces were alerted and returned the fire. Earlier an army patrol found an anti-vehicle mine planted on a dirt road near the Lahish area.

Meanwhile Israeli tractor operators completed ploughing work today on a field near Tel Katzir which was the target of Syrian shelling. Friday and yesterday. Israeli forces took special precautionary measures after yesterday’s shooting, the nature of which were not disclosed.

Foreign Minister Abba Eban rejected today in Parliament the Syrian claims of shooting down five Israeli jets in the border clash last Friday. “Israel, ” he said, “has the habit of openly admitting and detailing her losses in defensive actions.” He reiterated earlier official Israeli statements that no Israeli planes were lost in the artillery, tank and air clash in which Israeli jets shot down six Soviet-made Syrian MIG-21 jet fighters.

Mr. Eban made the statement in a summary of foreign policy debate last week covering his Asian tour. He also told Parliament that the events Friday had shown that Israel would not acquiesce in having its border pushed westward. The clash followed Syrian shooting at tractors plowing fields in the demilitarized zone at the Tel Katzir settlement.

Mr. Eban declared that the United Nations charter was not intended to prevent citizens of a nation from ploughing their land, even near a border but rather to halt armed clashes between nations. He asserted that Syria had been acting in “flagrant violation” of this principle, making a mockery of the charter and the Israeli-Arab armistice agreements. He said this situation should be made clear by international bodies.