Prime Minister Levi Eshkol expressed skepticism today over the idea of establishment of a Druze state in the occupied Golan Heights in Syria. In an interview with a Druze student on Kol Israel Radio, Mr. Eshkol said that a small people seeking a state of its own must create support for the idea. The Druze are an Islamic non-Arab sect whose 20,000 members in Israel have consistently supported the Jews. A Druze member has sat in the Knesset.
The Premier told the student that the question was whether those who proposed creation of such a state in the Golan Heights had considered the matter with care. Pointing out that the area was small and its population meager, Mr. Eshkol asked what resources such a state would have to live on.
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.
