The Security Council is scheduled to meet tomorrow at 3:30 P. M. in response to the request by Egypt yesterday for an urgent session on the question of Israeli withdrawal from Arab territories occupied in last June’s Six-Day War.
Two resolutions face the Council–one sponsored by the United States, the other co-sponsored by India, Mali and Nigeria and already characterized by Israel’s Foreign Minister Abba Eban, here, as an Arab draft which is “irrational and amazing.” Israel rejects that draft “without reservations,” he said. Mr. Eban considers the American proposal as “extremely valuable and important.” But he criticized both drafts for “lack of the clear principle of a call on both parties (Israel and the Arab states) for direct negotiations.
While Arthur J. Goldberg, head of the U. S. delegation, was reported to have shown his draft yesterday to Jordan’s King Hussein, who is said to have reacted favorably to it, Mr. Eban made it clear that none of the three delegations co-sponsoring the other draft had consulted Israel prior to introducing their proposed resolution.
Mr. Eban denied reports in some newspapers to the effect that there have been “signs of fluctuation” in Israel’s position at the U. N. He affirmed that his Government’s policy of insisting on direct negotiations with the Arab states, as he had stated last June, “will not be changed next week, or next month.”
In addition to the two draft resolutions, there was also a “working paper” circulated today by the Japanese delegation, which is a member of the 15-nation Council. That document, not yet in the form of a resolution, was also declared by Mr. Eban as “not acceptable to Israel.” The contents of the Japanese paper were not made public.
CONFERS WITH GOLDBERG; SCORNS HUSSEIN’S ‘MODERATION’ AND KHARTOUM PARLEY
Mr. Eban, who returned here from London last night, immediately after the two draft resolutions were introduced, conferred on both proposed resolutions with Ambassador Goldberg. Today, he gave his evaluation of the various Council proposals at a press conference here. In reply to questions, he said that he saw no signs of Arab “moderation” resulting from the recent Arab summit conference at Khartoum. He noted that the parley had not called for recognition of Israel or for peace negotiations.
Commenting on statements by Jordan’s monarch, which some quarters regard as evidence of Arab moderation, Mr. Eban said the Jordanian ruler has asked Israel to present her terms for an agreement. “We will make our offer in peace talks and negotiate for a settlement, but Israel does not want to negotiate in public or in a public discussion,” he said. Since Hussein has admitted that he went to war unwillingly last June, it is his responsibility to negotiate an end to the consequences of that war, Mr. Eban said. He scorned Hussein’s remarks on race, noting that “Jordan is one of the few countries left in the world where, by official policy, no Jew can remain alive in its territory, and no synagogue remains standing.”
Mr. Eban recalled that, 19 years ago, the Security Council called on both parties to negotiate a peace settlement, and he asked that call be renewed now. He noted that, in 1948, several Arab countries conquered additional territory after the cease-fire order but that didn’t prevent them from opening negotiations with Israel. He cited the Korean negotiations and the Tashkent negotiations between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute as a precedent for direct Arab-Israeli peace talks.
Western diplomats here, who were caught by surprise by the Egyptian call for an “urgent” Council meeting, regard the move as a preemptive maneuver to force a vote on the three-power draft. Diplomats here believe that the Soviet Union had a hand in the Egyptian call for a Council meeting in order to forestall any agreement with the United States.
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.
