Israel’s military situation was aggravated recently following the outbreak of hostilities in Korea and Israel was subsequently compelled to take all precautionary measures to prepare for any eventuality, Brig. Yigal Yadin, Chief of Staff, told the concluding session today of the conference of Israel’s top diplomats from more than a dozen countries.
Earlier, Premier David Ben Gurion presented an overall review of the Jewish state’s political, military and economic problems. Several of the ministers will leave for their posts soon, following a tour of the new state, beginning tomorrow. A review of the problems facing the Jewish Agency in the resettlement of newly-arrived immigrants in Israel was presented by Raanan Weitz, of the Agency’s settlement department.
Brig. Yadin’s report to the diplomats was given during a discussion of Israel’s peace efforts and their neighbors’ attitude toward Arab preparations for a second round of warfare against the new state. It is understood that Brig. Yadin outlined the structure of the Israel Army and the problems of the new state’s armed forces in view of Israel’s unfixed borders, which, he stressed, demand extreme watchfulness in view of the Arabs’ attempts to infiltrate the border not only for smuggling purposes, but also for the delivery of arms and the entry of fifth columnists.
SUSPENSION OF U.N. CONCILIATION COMMISSION’S EFFORTS URGED
The formation of regional blocs of nations and Israel’s attitude toward such blocs in the event that they are formed was discussed earlier at the eighth meeting of the conference of Israel diplomats assigned to various countries. The locale of the meetings was transferred from Tel Aviv to here.
One of the most important problems considered was the question of reconsidering the Israel position on the Italian colonies. The discussion on this issue centered about the likelihood of Israel’s reversing itself. At the last U.N. General Assembly session Israel voted to turn over territory it holds to a U.N. trusteeship. However, in view of Israel’s experiences with the Jerusalem issue, the Jewish diplomats doubt that any state can be compelled to turn over territory it holds to a U.N. trust body.
The diplomats also recommended that the government propose to the United Nations Conciliation Commission on Palestine, which is returning here next week, that it discontinue its attempts at conciliation in view of its record of failure. The meeting was opened by Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett and was attended by Berl Locker, Jewish Agency head in Jerusalem.
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.
