Dr. Walter Eytan, head of the Israeli delegation to the Arab-Israeli peace talks now being conducted here under the auspices of the U.N. Conciliation Commission, returned here today from Tel Aviv and will meet with members of the Commission tomorrow.
Although the Israeli delegation emphatically discounts all reports that Dr. Eytan has brought back new proposals, a spokesmen for the Conciliation Commission said today the “the U.S. delegation knows that Eytan is about to present new proposals, for if he has nothing, there would be no reason for his return to Lausanne.”
It was learned here today that a personal letter from President Truman was delivered to the Israeli Government thought the U.S. Ambassador Tel Aviv. In this letter, President Truman conveyed the “new line” of the American Government seeking a substantial repatriation a Arab refugees to Israel.
Truman’s letter is said to have been couched in such terms that members of the Conciliation Commission are convinced that the Israeli Government cannot ignore at. It is believed here that the receipt of Truman’s letter in Tel Aviv was the occasion for the recalling a week ago of Dr. Eytan from Lausanne for consultation. It is also believed in Commission circles that as a result of this letter, Dr. Eytan returned to Lausanne today with more conciliatory proposals regarding the Arab refugee problem.
Mohamed Nimr Hawari, president of the Arab Refugee Congress, who is recognized by the Commission as the spokesman for 350,000 refugees, made a last-minute appeal today to Israeli public opinion. Let the refugees return, he said, and they would be Israel’s most loyal and faithful citizens. They have lived under the authority of the Arab states, he said, and know what that is like; the would help defend Israel against any aggression by other Arabs. They would understand the difficulties facing the Israeli Government, he added, and would share all the present hardships.
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