President Eisenhower told a press conference today on the question of resumption of Egyptian civil administration in Gaza that he would like to see those arrangements which United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold considers best and which would lead to conditions conducive to a real peace settlement.
The President made known that he spoke this morning with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles–who is now in Australia–on the Gaza issue. He said Mr. Hammarskjold is going to Cairo on Saturday to conduct negotiations and that the United States views have been made known to him. He added that since the issue is in a negotiating stage he did not want to prejudge or predict the outcome.
The President avoided a direct answer to a question on whether he felt that the return of the Egyptians to Gaza was consistent with U. S. assurances to Israel. He said he had neither seen not heard of a report on statements by Dr. Ralph Bunche, UN Assistant Secretary General, agreeing with Egyptian claims to civil administration rights.
Mr. Eisenhower said he had had no recent reports of new Communist arms shipments to Egypt. The President said he favored the use of the International Bank wherever possible for Middle East development.
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.
