The possibility of stationing a United Nations navy in the Akaba waterway as part of the UN Emergency Force with a view to securing unmolested passage of Israeli ships through the Gulf of Akaba was seen here today, in the light of the statement made at the General Assembly yesterday by Henry Cabot Lodge or., head of the American delegation. Mr. Lodge spoke of the need to use UNEF to separate Israeli and Egyptian faces “on land and on sea.”
A spokesman for the United States delegation, when queried today, did not deny the existence of such a possibility. He referred to the part of the statement in which Mr. Lodge cautioned the Assembly against a “return to the unsatisfactory conditions which helped to bring about the recent hostilities “Mr. Lodge’s statement, according to the spokesman, does not, however, “preclude action by the General Assembly prior to withdrawal.”
It was taken for granted here today that the United States has shifted its position and favors adoption now by the General Assembly of a resolution providing Israel some assurances against renewed Egyptian belligerency before Israel withdraws its troops from the Akaba and Gaza areas. The spokesman for the U.S. delegation today indicated this by declaring: “We have not closed our minds to action in the General Assembly prior to the completion of the withdrawal of Israeli forces behind the armistice lines.”
Canadian delegate Lester Pearson, addressing the General Assembly, said withdrawal of Israeli forces must be “immediate and complete,” and immediately thereafter action must follow to permit real progress toward peace in the Middle East. Egypt and Israel should be called upon by the General Assembly to observe scrupulously the Armistice Agreement and to refrain from exercise of any belligerent rights.
UN forces must be deployed on both sides of the demarcation line including the Gaza Strip, he said. Egypt and Israel should be requested to aid the UN forces in this. The present civil administration must be replaced by the UN, which should also ensure that this strip would not be used again as a base for illegal incursions. The legal situation of the Gulf of Akaba should be clarified. In the meantime, Egypt should give assurances not to hamper freedom of passage in the Gulf. The Secretary General should be authorized to organize a unit or units of the UN force to ensure peaceful conditions in that area.
SOVIET DELEGATE URGES “EMPHATIC REJECTION” OF ALL ISRAEL DEMANDS
Vassily V. Kuznetsov, First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union, told the Assembly that UNEF itself was created “in violation of the Charter of the United Nations.” Everyone of Israel’s demands, said Mr. Kuznetsov, should be “emphatically rejected.” It is the United Nations duty, he added, “to take resolute steps to the continuing aggression by Israel in Egypt”
The Assembly was expected to take at least a day or two of recess during which a number of delegations, including Canada’s, hope to hammer out an acceptable resolution that would provide some guarantees to Israel.
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