Israel is opposed to any candidate for the post of executive officer of the United Nations, in succession to Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, if that official is from a country identified with the Arab League, Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, declared in an interview on a coast-to-coast NBC television network today.
Pointing out that the Arab League “is publicly committed to the destruction of the State of Israel,” Mrs. Meir said: “Any country that is a member of the Arab League cannot, should not, have its person as UN Secretary General. In the Middle East, there is one more important factor: The UN observers, the United Nations Emergency Force, and so on, are directly under the direction of the Secretary-General.”
Mrs. Meir expressed the opinion that peace between Israel and the hostile ‘Arab states must come, sooner or later. “I am convinced of that,” she declared. With regard to the revolt in Syria, she said that Israel, while being watchful over developments in Syra, is following an old principle of non-interference in the affairs of other countries. She added that Israel is also concerned about any developments on the Jordanian border since its capital, Jerusalem, is right on Jordan’s border.
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