Secretary General Kurt Waldheim left Israel for Jordan and Egypt today after a 24-hour visit during which he met at length with Israeli leaders and inspected United Nations installations. He told reporters at Ben Gurion Airport that he did not expect the Geneva peace conference on the Middle East to resume in the near future even though a disengagement agreement has been concluded between Israel and Syria.
Waldheim said that despite the serious differences between Israel and Syria, he was impressed by the readiness of both sides to cooperate with the UN. He noted that the function of the newly formed United Nations Disengagement Observers Force (UNDOF) on the Syrian front will differ from that of the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Sinai inasmuch as there will be civilians living in the areas under UNDOF supervision. Asked about UN intervention on behalf of Syrian Jews, Waldheim said the UN was aware of their situation. The Syrians claim it is an internal affair, but one should also take into account the humanitarian aspects, the UN chief said. (By Gil Sedan)
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