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Arabs Pressing for United Nations Action on Mideast Situation and Jerusalem

May 17, 1968
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The Arab bloc here continued today to press for a Security Council resolution on the Middle East, threatening that if no action were taken by the Council, at least on Jerusalem, they would insist on raising the entire Middle East issue in the General Assembly. Ambassador Muhamed H. El-Farra, of Jordan demanded early action in a meeting today with U.S. Ambassador Arthur J. Goldberg.

The Arabs apparently had given up hopes of securing support for an Algerian draft resolution threatening sanctions unless Israel cancelled all measures for the annexation of Jerusalem within two weeks. Lord Caradon of Britain, Council President, was circulating a “working paper” which could be the basis of a draft resolution, and Denmark and Canada were consulting on a draft which reaffirmed the two resolutions adopted by the General Assembly last July and called on the Arabs and Israel to help implement the Counsil resolution of Nov. 22.

Foreign Minister Corneliu Manescu of Rumania, president of the General Assembly, met Ambassador Yosef Tekoah of Israel today, reportedly to inform him of Arab bloc demands for Assembly debate on the Middle East. Mr. Manescu had previously conferred with the Egyptian envoy.

Official UN sources maintained a complete news blackout today on the Jarring mission and the status of its activities. Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring arrived here yesterday and took up headquarters near the offices of Secretary-General U Thant, with whom he conferred today. The UN declined to disclose Dr. Jarring’s immediate plans or to comment on the reports from Cairo that Egypt had agreed to his proposals for conducting his mission in New York. In the absence of any indications that there had been a modification of the Egyptian position, the reports from Cairo were considered here as self-serving Egyptian propaganda.

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