U. N. Truce Chief Says Egypt Chiefly Responsible for Gaza Tension

Responsibility for tension along the Egyptian-Israel frontier, which resulted in the Gaza clash, was today placed primarily on Egypt by Maj. Gen. E. I. M. Burns, United Nations truce chief, in a report which he read to the UN Security Council.

The Council met today to resume consideration of the Egyptian complaint against Israel in connection with the Gaza incident and the Israel charges against Egypt. The session was adjourned, without setting a date for the next meeting, after hearing Gen. Burns and a long speech by the Egyptian delegate, Dr. Omar Loutfi, in which he reiterated Egypt’s charges against Israel. Israel delegate Abba Eban requested and received the right to speak at the next meeting.

Prior to Gen. Burns’ report, Soviet delegate Arkadi Sobolev made a brief statement on the Soviet attitude toward the Egyptian complaint. He said that the Soviet delegation considers that responsibility for the Gaza clash rested with Israel.

At the same time, he said that the Soviet delegation “could not pass over in silence” the statements contained in the Israel communication which clearly demonstrated the tension existing in the area. This was a result of the policy of “certain states” who were not pursuing a policy of peace but one of “setting up” military blocs, Mr. Sobolev declared. He reserved his right to return to the matter after the representatives of both sides had spoken.

GEN. BURNS CHIDES EGYPT; SAYS SHE DOES NOT PUNISH MARAUDERS

“The Egyptian authorities,” Gen. Burns told the Security Council, “should apply strictly the severe penalties provided by Egyptian ordinances against illegal crossing of the demarcation line, take the measures necessary to ensure that no arms or explosives are in possession of unstable elements and, especially, give adequate publicity to punishments meted out for theft or illegal crossing. Such publicity should include notification to the Mixed Armistice Commission.

“Otherwise,” he declared, “it is understandable that, seeing no news of infiltrators being punished, the Israelis refuse to believe that a serious attempt is being made to prevent the depredations which eventually build up tension to a dangerous point.”

The UN truce chief reviewed the state of affairs on the Gaza line in the months preceding the incident. There had been 99 Israel complaints and 36 Egyptian complaints during the last four months, and the number of casualties prior to the Gaza incident reflected “comparative tranquility” during that period, he said.

It would be difficult, General Burns said, to assess the relative importance of alleged incidents if the parties themselves did not indicate–by asking for emergency meetings of the MAC in some cases, by asking for investigations in others, by requesting neither in some cases–that some incidents were considered more important than others. He outlined the cases dealt with at emergency meetings of the MAC since November 1, 1954.

“The recurrence at more or less frequent intervals of shooting incidents along the demarcation line, the much more frequent cases of crossing the line by infiltrators and their activities in Israel helped to maintain a state of greater or lesser tension, which was increased by the emotion created in Israel by the Bat Galim case and, in January, by the trial in Cairo of Jews charged with espionage and the condemnation to death of two of the defendants,” General Burns reported.

U. N. TRUCE CHIEF URGES CLOSE GUARDING OF FRONTIERS

Gen. Burns noted reports that armed Israel groups had been carrying out reconnaissance deep into the Gaza strip. He also noted that since there was no peace between the parties, a request for a curb on military intelligence activities would have been of little use.

“However,” he said, “persons who might kill or sabotage have to cross the demarcation line to do so and a close guarding and patrolling on both sides of the line would hamper such activities, as well as those of ordinary thieves and marauders. The willingness of the parties to cooperate effectively in such guarding and patrolling could, to a degree, indicate whether they really desire to keep the border area quiet.”

Gen. Burns recalled his earlier suggestions for decreasing tension along the demarcation line, such as joint patrols in “sensitive” spots, a local Commanders’ Agreement, barbed wire along certain parts of the line, and manning of all outposts and patrols by regular troops.

He reviewed his discussions with Egypt and Israel on these suggestions. He had sent a draft agreement to both sides. Egypt had replied with some comments, and a second draft had been sent to both parties. On the eve of Gen. Burns’ departure for New York this week, Israel had replied, confirming agreement to conclude an Area Commanders’ Agreement in the Gaza area and attaching some proposals of its own.

Gen. Burns said he still felt that if an agreement could be effected between the parties along the lines he had suggested, and if both sides made “an honest attempt” to fulfill the conditions, infiltration could be reduced to “an occasional nuisance.” Some thieving was probably inevitable as long as there were “vast numbers of poverty-stricken refugees” on Israel’s borders. But he would add that “stealing–retaliatory or not–has not been limited to one side, especially in the case of cattle.”

BURNS’ REPORT SHOWS GAZA WAS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT

There was a definite feeling among members of the Israel delegation here that Gen. Burns’ report supported the Israel contention that Gaza was not an isolated incident. An Israel spokesman pointed out after the meeting that Gen. Burns’ statistics confirm the Israel claim that Egyptian violations against Israel have been far more numerous than Israel’s against Egypt. The spokesman stressed also that the Burns’ report:

1. Shows an “alarming picture” of Egyptian penetration as far as fifty kilometers into Israel territory for the purposes of killing and spying.

2. Confirms the fact that tensions were caused and heightened by Egypt’s seizure of the Bat Galim and by Egypt’s hanging of two Jews.

3. Lays the blame for the grave border situation on Egypt which, in the words of Gen. Burns, continued “penetrations and killings of Israel citizens” despite provisions of the armistice agreement and “a number of MAC resolutions.”