Yugoslavian President Tito will arrive in Cairo Thursday with his own “peace plan” for breaking the Arab-Israeli deadlock, The Washington Post reported today. The president of the Washington Post Company, Katherine Graham, cabled a personal interview held with Tito at Brioni.
According to the Graham interview, Tito held that Israeli forces must withdraw from conquered territory in exchange for an international guarantee of borders as they were before June 5. Israel’s independence and security would then be assured by the U.N. Security Council or by the big four powers, Tito said.
He maintained that the new plan was a compromise because it in effect amounted to de facto recognition of Israel. The Tito plan would relieve Arab leaders of the need to unilaterally recognize Israel. Tito feels they could not do that and survive politically. He described activities of some circles inside Israel as reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s methods, The Post reported.
The Post said Tito asked how it was possible that Jews “could resort to methods from which they themselves suffered so much.” He contended that Israel has been the aggressor since 1948, citing Israeli occupation of Eilat in 1947, the Arab refugee problem, the 1956 war, Israel’s 1957 refusal to permit UNEF on the Israeli territory, Israel’s alleged recent preparations to invade Syria, and the June “lightning war.”
Tito said the Arabs would obtain better arms and might redress grievances by force. He held that it was a mistake to assume that the Arabs were poor fighters because they were caught by surprise. Israel’s blitzkrieg succeeded only because the Arabs were caught off guard, said Tito. He blamed this particularly on assurances by the United States and others that Israel would not attack. Accordingly, he said, the attack found the best Egyptian armored division in the interior and all the planes on the ground.
Tito stated that if Israel is not persuaded to surrender the occupied territory, it would set a precedent that others would use. He said the Soviet Union was giving the Arabs arms in proportion to what they had before. He claimed that Israel was armed better than before because of captured war booty. He indicated agreement with Moscow’s pro-Arab policy. He stressed that he only wants peace and said he “feels certain that this is also Nasser’s predominant desire.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
