Israel Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, opening tonight a debate in Parliament on Israel’s foreign policy in connection with the latest developments at the U.N. Security Council, pointed out that the Jewish State now faces the following problems:
1. How to develop the armistice agreements with the Arab countries without being hampered or strangled by them.
2. How to fortify Israel’s security without affecting, as far as possible, the sympathy of the world for Israel.
3. How to accept aid from foreign governments without yielding Israel’s independence.
4. How to oppose powers incomparably stronger than Israel without undermining the existing friendly relations with them.
“These are stumbling blocks on our road, but we will have to get used to proceeding on the road leading to our goal,” Mr. Sharett told the members of the Israel Parliament.
ISRAEL WILL NOT YIELD POLITICAL FREEDOM FOR U.S. AID, SAYS SHARETT
Referring to the American TVA plan for the development of the Jordan River, Mr. Sharett said that everybody concerned must realize that water is no luxury for Israel. “Water is our very life and very existence.” he declared. “Without irrigation we will not achieve adequate production to balance our economy and achieve economic independence. Nay, without irrigation we will not achieve an agriculture worth its name, and without agriculture we will not be a people rooted in its homeland and sure of its future existence.”
Pointing out that the United States can give “precious assistance” in developing the water resources of the region for the benefit of all concerned, the Foreign Minister added: “We need and are interested in American assistance, but as Israel will not yield its political freedom and independence of thought for U.S. aid, so we shall also not seek foreign aid at the price of prospects for our development and stabilization in the most vital fields.”
Israel is ready to arrange with its neighbors for a just distribution of the Jordan River’s water resources for benefit of all, but if this proves impossible Israel will stand firmly on its right to finish the hydroelectric project, preferably with the UN’s consent, Mr. Sharett stated. “We consented to interrupt the work for a short time to enable the Security Council to inquire into the matter in a quiet atmosphere, “he stressed, “but we did not consent to an indefinite interruption.”
Mr. Sharett struck a new note when, after analyzing developments at the UN Security Council, he declared that peace cannot be imposed. Though it is a vital need of the region, as well as for the world, he said, there will be no peace without the goodwill of Israel’s opponents. He declared that it was a “deception” to think that Israel could not exist without peace–“we exist and we will be able to exist without peace indefinitely.”
If the heads of the Arab states prefer the tension and suffering which accompany the present state, it is their concern, he said. He warned that Israel would not “make it easier for them to evade their responsibilities” under the armistice agreements, but would hold them to the pacts.
After pointing out that the Kibya incident had its roots in “five years of an armistice which in practice is no peace and no armistice,” the Foreign Minister declared that it is Israel’s problem to steer a course under such circumstances which will keep both its security and its development programs at top level. Of the Security Council resolution on Kibya, he reiterated Premier Ben Gurion’s charge that it “discriminates between blood and blood” adding that it had lowered the prestige of the UN.
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