A draft resolution, differing only slightly in detail from a draft originally offered by the British delegation two weeks ago, is to be submitted to the Security Council by the United States, Britain and France, it was learned today.
The draft resolution closely follows the original British proposal which called for severe rebuke to Israel on the Kibya incident and the strengthening of the UN truce observance machinery in Palestine. It failed to seek any negotiations leading to a transition from the present armistices to peace between Israel and the Arab States.
The original British draft, it was understood, was prepared even before the Security Council began discussion of the Kibya complaint and thus could not have taken into consideration points raised by Israel or arguments of the Israel delegation before the Security Council.
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., head of the American delegation, had wavered in his acceptance of the terms of the British draft sternly rebuking Israel and this was the apparent reason why the draft resolution was not submitted to the Council earlier. Sources at the UN said that with the New York and New Jersey elections out of the way, the State Department felt itself in a position to take a strong line so far as Israel is concerned.
The draft fails to call upon the Arab States and Israel to enter into direct negotiations for a permanent peace settlement, as urged upon the Council by Israel. It is understood that the British opposed such a call although the United States and France wanted the resolution to stress the desirability of a peace settlement.
The British insistence on strengthening the truce observance machinery drew comment here in view of the failure of Major Gen. Vagn Bennike, UN chief of staff in Palestine, to call for such action. When pressed by the Big Three delegates as to the advisability of strengthening the truce observance force, Gen. Bennike finally conceded that he could use seven more observers to round out his staff.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
