A prominent British Conservative called today on the Western Powers to guarantee the boundaries of Israel and its Arab neighbors as a means of reducing tension in the Middle East, and of enabling a solution of that area’s outstanding problems.
Sir Victor Raikes, Conservative member of Parliament for 26 years until his recent retirement, said today in the London Daily Telegraph that “if Britain, France and the United States would accept and guarantee a viable State of Israel, coupled with a pledge to the Arab states that their boundaries would also be protected against any possible Israeli aggression, Arab fears would be greatly alleviated. The refugees could be settled mainly in Arab areas, and proper financial compensation arrived at.”
“It is only on this sort of basis, he asserted, “that stability can be restored in the foreseeable future. ” He pointed out that, in Israel, “the Jews have created a small but virile state. ” He warned that they would fight any attempt to truncate the state but “this does not rule out adjustments of boundaries, especially along the Jordanian frontier. “
Sir Victor declared that “the Great Powers should realize that if this small outpost of Western civilization were destroyed with the aid of Communist-supplied arms–otherwise any assault would fail–Soviet prestige would be increased, the Lebanon would fall to Syria and the isolation of our ally, Turkey, would be almost complete.”
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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.
