Yadin; Rejection of Untso Won’t Cool Relations with the U.S.

Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin said today he did not believe that Israel’s rejection of an enlarged United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization (UNTSO) to replace the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Sinai would lead to a cooling of relations with the United States. He told Israel Radio he expected to hear officially from Washington today or tomorrow.

Yadin said that if the UN Security Council does not extend UNEF’s mandate before it expires tomorrow it “might complicate implementation of the peace agreement.”But he stressed, “it should not affect Israel’s next Sinai withdrawal from the area around the oilfields on Wednesday.”

The possibility of replacing UNEF with UNTSO was not discussed at the Camp David meetings, Yadin pointed out. “The Americans said clearly that if the UNEF was not extended, then the United States would see to it that it was replaced by another international or multi-national force,” he said. Yadin explained that Israel was opposed to UNTSO because it could only report on what happens. “The international force, on the other hand, should prevent breaches of the agreement, ensure freedom of navigation, for example, he said.

“The UNEF comes under Security Council authority and required the consent of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council for any changes,” Yadin continued. “The UNTSO comes under the personal authority of the UN Secretary General. The proposal is therefore not in accordance with the Camp David agreements, and we have so informed the United States.”

Egypt, meanwhile, reportedly accepted the UNTSO approach which was worked out by the U.S. and the Soviet Union after the USSR rejected using UNEF to police the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement. In Geneva, Egyptian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Boutros Ghali said UNTSO would not have any U. S. or Soviet members on the force replacing UNEF.