U.N. Security Council Starts Debate on Israel-syrian Clash Tomorrow

Israel’s delegation here was preparing today for the first serious Security Council debate since 1956, regarding its rights to Lake Tiberias. The Council will start discussion Wednesday on a Syrian complaint alleging Israeli aggression and an Israeli complaint charging the Damascus Government with deliberate attacks against Israel.

All sides, including the 11 members of the Council, and the leadership of the Secretariat, were awaiting, meanwhile, the issuance of a comprehensive report from Major General Carl C. Horn, chief of staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine, regarding the charges and counter-charges which were climaxed by Israel’s retaliatory raid against Syrian gun positions during the night of March 16-17. Von Horn’s report was scheduled for issuance late this evening.

Meanwhile, Israel’s delegation chief here, Michael S. Comay, has already conferred with seven of the members of the Security Council, and there was a possibility that he may see several others. He has already talked to the representatives of the Big Three of the West–the United States, Britain and France–as well as some of the other members. He has so far not yet seen the representatives of the Soviet Union, Rumania and Nationalist China.

The Council met last on the Lake Tiberias issue in 1956. During that period, the Council had held eight sessions on the issue, starting on December 16, 1955 and ending on January 19, 1956. At that time, the Council adopted a resolution enjoining both Syria and Israel to observe the Armistice Agreement of 1959. Since 1956, however, Syria has fired on Israel fishing boats or police boats on Lake Tiberias on 56 separate occasions; has interfered with Israel’s rights on the lake 72 times; has allowed 231 of its fishing boats to fish in the lake which is entirely in Israeli territory; and has caused five Israeli deaths.