Refusal of Syrian authorities to guarantee that their troops would not open fire on United Nations observers attempting to establish boundary lines in a border region south of Lake Huleh prevented the beginning of impartial surveying operations today.
The Syrian refusal to cooperate followed on the heels of Israeli compliance earlier this week-end with a request by the UN truce organization that all reclamation activity be halted near Ashmora settlement where Syrian gunners attacked Israeli workers twice last week. However, when Israel learned that Syria would not permit UN surveying, work was resumed with armed guards protecting the laborers.
In the most recent incident, Syrian machine gunners and mortar units opened up on the Israeli settlement after nightfall on Friday. Firing continued for two hours. UN observers then informed Israel that the Syrian officer in command had promised to halt the shooting which did end shortly thereafter. No casualties were reported and the Israelis did not return the fire.
Israel agreed to halt work to permit UN surveyors to make exact measurements to determine whether there was any truth to Syrian claims that part of the land involved was not in Israel territory. It even offered to withdraw its border police to facilitate the investigation.
Israel officials said that the events indicated a standard procedure by the Syrians in which whenever Israel started drainage or land improvement near the Syrian border, the Syrians started shooting while claiming that the affected area was Syrian territory. The next step was for the UN to ask temporary suspension of work pending a survey which usually showed that the Syrian claim was 90 or 100 percent unfounded whereupon work would be resumed–after Israel casualties of wounded and occasionally dead victims of the initial Syrian attacks.
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.
