The head quarters of the U.N. military truce observers, under Count Folke Bernadotte’s chief of staff; will be transferred from Cairo to Haifa within the next twenty-four hours, it was announced today. The transfer has teen decided upon because Haifa is more centrally located.
David Ben Gurion, Premier of Israel, today expressed regret over the fact that the Soviet Union is not represented on the staff of the U.N. observers. The main concern of the Israeli Government, he said, was to exclude the British from participating as truce observers, since they are involved in the Palestine situation. The fact that the U.S.S.R. has not been invited by the U.N. mediator to send observers is no ground for anyone in Israel to criticize other friendly governments, especially the United States, Ben Gurion emphasized.
The Israeli Premier, in summing up a debate started at a session of the Israeli State Council last night, declared that acceptance of the cease-fire proposal was not a military necessity for the Jews, but added that it did not harm the Jew. Addressing the session last night, he said that he does not know whether the Arabs and their British advisers want peace. "The truce," he said, "compels us to prepare for too things — for peace and for war. We will give all the aid to the U.N. peace messenger, hut we are not prepared to accept peace at any price."
Ben Gurion warned that if the Arabs will not recognize the existence of an Israeli state, then the U.N. mediator "is wasting his time." He emphasized that the Jews can only deal with the Arabs "as equals with equals" The British evacuation of ‘Haifa, he warned, may "be seized upon "by the ‘Arabs for a sudden attack on Israel from land, air and sea. "We, therefore, have to be prepared, "he told the State Council.
U.N. MEDIATOR DOES NOT INVITE JEWS AND ARABS TO PEACE TALKS, SHERTOK SAY
U.N. mediator Bernadotte is not at this time inviting the Jews and the Arabs to send representatives to a Palestine peace parley on the island of Rbodes, Israeli’s Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok told the State Council. He made it clear that both sides are being asked only to station liaison officers at Rhodes to work with the United Nations mission.
The U.N. mediator will invite delegates to a peace conference only if he reaches the conclusion that there is a basis for acceptance of proposals on both sides, Shertok reported. Meanwhile, he added, Count Bernadotte has requested the dispatch of representatives who would be available for informational purposes and provide a liaison channel with their respective governments.
The State Council of the provisional Government of Israel last night fixed the rules for future Council sessions. The presidium will comprise the council’s President, Dr. Cha## Weizmann, a chairman and three vice-chairmen, Members of the government cannot serve in the presidium.
Minister of Communication David Remez and Postmaster General Zvi Friedberg left today for abroad to arrange for the resumption of communications between Israel and foreign countries. The Israeli commander for the Tel Aviv area today ordered all building workers to leave their regular jobs for a week’s time during which they will be assigned to building fortifications.
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