U.N. Truce Chief Takes Issue with Israel on Border Patrols

Maj. Gen. E. L. M. Burns, United Nations truce chief, today objected to an Israel decision, supported by Premier Moshe Sharett, to bar UN truce observers from patrolling Israel-Jordan demilitarized areas unless they are accompanied by Israeli officers. Mr. Sharett had stressed that the truce organization could not initiate such decisions on its own and could only take such action after the two parties to the armistice pact agreed.

Mr. Sharett also confirmed previous reports that Israel would rejoin the Israel-Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission after Commander Elmo R. Hutchison, chairman of that commission, has been recalled to duty with the U.S. Navy. Commander Hutchison is scheduled to leave his post in mid-October. Israel has been boycotting the commission over which he presides since last March.

Gen. Burns also revealed today that Israeli military sentries in border zones had several times refused to permit UN patrols to pass them because they were not accompanied by Israel officers. Gen. Burns charged that in some cases where Israeli liaison officers had been requested for UN patrols the liaison officers had not been furnished.

He insisted that his authority to set up unescorted patrols came from Security Council resolutions of Aug. 11, 1949 and that if Israel had any objections to his actions it should argue the matter before the Security Council. He intimated that he would have no objection to escorts for his patrol, if his requests for such escorts were met. He also said that Jordan permits the UN patrols past its lines without Jordan liaison escort.

The UN truce chief declared that “if United Nations observers are not free to move unless accompanied by an officer of the party concerned and then only to go where the officer says he may go, it is probable that the outside world will conclude that the party has something to conceal, and those who are not its well – wishers will say it has aggressive intentions.”