The Israel Government has called on the United Nations truce observance organization here to take immediate action to abate tension on the Jordan-Israel frontier and secure cessation of numerous attempts by Arab bands to infiltrate Israel territory from Jordan.
The demand was made at a personal meeting with Maj. Gen. Vagn Benecke, UN truce chief, by Brig, Gen. Moshe Dayan. The Danish truce chief, who returned to his post here only last week, was urged to intervene with the Jordan authorities to check the border incidents which last week cost several Jewish casualties. The two men discussed possible steps to ease tension along the border.
Meanwhile, the Israel Foreign Office, in a sharply-worded statement, blasted rumors spread by Jordan authorities to the effect that the Israelis were massing troops in Jerusalem. The spokesman declared there was not a “scintilla of truth” in these reports and charged that Jordan was seeking to influence other Arab states to give it aid to finance the Jordan national guard.
“The Government of Israel is deeply and earnestly concerned for the peace of the Holy City to be scrupulously maintained and has strictly observed the security arrangements for the city set out in the armistice agreement,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman declared. Under the Jordan-Israel armistice agreement, each state is allowed to have a maximum of two battalions each in the Jerusalem district.
(At Beirut, the Lebanese Prime Minister, Abdullah Tafi, reported to Parliament last week that Israeli troop concentrations on Arab frontiers, particularly in the Jerusalem area, were “a definite fact and hostilities might break out any moment.”)
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.
