It is doubtful that high level political talks between Israeli and Transjordan representatives will take place in the near future following the Israeli rejection today of a request by the Arabs for further discussions on truce natters for Jerusalem, informed political circles here believe.
At a meeting between Col. Moshe Dayan, Israeli commander in Jerusalem, and It. Col. Abdullah al Tel, his Arab Legion counterpart, Dayan stated that he was not empowered to discuss any other problem until Transjordan replies to his request of last week that talks be begun on an armistice and, later, a peace settlement.
It is learned here that Transjordan’s King Abdullah is not ready to conduct direct, decisive negotiations because of the internal situation in his country. His cabinet resigned yesterday, reportedly in protest at his readiness to negotiate with the Israelis and his heir apparent, Emir Talal, is said to be under house arrest for similar opposition to Abdullah’s will.
(King Abdullah has announced the appointment of a new Mufti of Jerusalem as a rival to Haj Amin al Huassini, the ex-Mufti who is Abdullah’s political archenemy, Reuters announced in a dispatch from Amman. The new Mufti, Sheikh Hussen Heddin Jarallah, is former chief justice of the Moslem religious courts in Palestine and a long-time opponent of the Husseini.)
At Haifa last night, United Nations truce headquarters announced that U.N. chief of staff American Brig. Gen. William Riley yesterday met with Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Hadar Pasha to continue talks initiated by acting mediator Ralph Bunche, who has since returned to the United States in advance of his being supplanted by the U.N. Conciliation Commission. Hadar Pasha reaffirmed Egypt’s statement that she was prepared to negotiate for an armistice as ordered by the Security Council last November 16.
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.
