U.N. Commission Starts Separate Talks Today with Arabs, Israelis

Reports in the British press that the Arab-Israeli conference sponsored here by the United Nations Conciliation Commission had been adjourned indefinitely were officially denied today by a spokesman for the Commission. He said that the first formal meeting will take place tomorrow.

The meeting will be held in two parts, he disclosed, In the morning the Commission will meet with the Arab delegations and in the afternoon it will hold a session with the Israeli delegation. The Arab delegation still insisted today that they will not sit together with the Israelis.

Israel will present at the meeting broad, constructive proposals for liquidating the residue of the Palestine war, alleviating the plight of its victims, placing the relations between Israel and its neighbors on a peaceful footing and contributing to permanent security in the region,” an Israel delegation spokesman told newsmen today.

The spokesman reiterated that Israel believes that the “first test of willingness to agree is willingness to meet.” Once again pointing out that the Arab state’s political, economic and even military activities against Israel are endangering the armistice agreements, the spokesman suggested that the U.N. Commission should obtain from all parties assurances that they wish to settle all outstanding issues. Finally, the spokesman repeated a point made earlier by Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett that Israel “does not regard it as profitable to negotiate on specific points out of context, but only as part of a broad settlement.”

Meanwhile, it was learned here that Ahmed Shoukeri, assistant secretary general of the Arab League, has turned up as a delegate to the Arab-Israeli parley. Shoukeri says that he is Syria’s “second delegate,” adding that he is a Palestine Arab refugee himself. He asserted that he does not represent the Arab League in any way.