Israel Denies It Failed to Warn UN Officers

An army spokesman denied emphatically today that Israel was in any way responsible for the deaths of four Austrian army officers serving with United Nations forces who were killed when their jeep struck a mine on the slopes of Mt. Hermon last week. The spokesman rejected as totally untrue the allegation of another Austrian officer that the deaths were the result of misinformation passed on by Israeli authorities. The four Austrians were member of the United Nations Disengagement Observers Force (UNDOF). At an investigation held immediately after the incident in the presence of the UN commander, Gen. Ensio Siilasvuo, UN officers confirmed that an Israeli representative had in fact warned UN personnel that the road to the Syrian side of the summit of Mt. Hermon was not cleared of mines and should not be traversed until an all clear notice was given, the army spokesman said.