Middle East Peace Talks To Begin

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32385, 26 August 1970, Page 13

Middle East Peace Talks To Begin

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) NEW YORK, August 25.

Sixty-seven days after the United States proposed that they do so, Israel, Jordan and Egypt will go into peace talks in New York today under the auspices of Dr Gunnar Jarring, the United Nations special representative to the Middle East.

Ambassadors from the three countries were set to meet Dr Jarring one after the other in his thirty-eighth floor office with the stated aim of reaching agreement and “the establishment of a just and lasting peace.” Dr Jarring was assigned to promote such agreement almost three years ago but this was the first time that the three governments had named representatives for sustained discussions with him in one place. Previously, except for occasional meetings at United Nations headquarters, he dealt with them by visiting their capitals from his regional office in Nicosia, Cyprus. And until lately, for almost 17 months he was back at his regular post of Swedish Ambassador to Moscow with his United Nations mission on the shelf.

.He made his first voluntary appearance before journalists, and his first public statement for quotation, yesterday to announce that the new discussions were about to start -The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, Mr Mahmoud Riad and Mr Anton Atalla, will come to the United Nations General Assembly in mid-September, as will the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Abba Eban. Dr Jarring, in announcing the revived discussion, said that be hoped they later could be held at the foreign ministers’ level. Mr Yasser Arafat chairman of the Central Committee of the Palestinian Resistance Movements, has started talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo on the guerrillas’ attitude towards moves for peace In the Middle East Mr Arafat who also heads the Fatah guerrilla movement arrived in Cairo within 24 hours of King Hussein's departure from Egypt after talks with President Nasser in which the guerrillas’ repudiation of United States

peace proposals was a prominent topic. One of President Nasser’s closest advisers, the Minister of National Guidance, Mr Mohamed Hassanein Heykel, last night accused Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement In an interview on Britain’s Independent Television Chanel, Mr Heykel said Israeli accusations of Egyptian violations were “a cover for a deal which they had made with the Americans for electronic equipment and for what they are doing now themselves.” Mr Heykel, who is also editor of “Al Ahram” newspaper,

said: “They (the Israelis) are right now violating the ceasefire agreement” He added: “I have been told by our military people that in the last three days they have been observing more actions in building new fortifications and building new roads to these fortifications, within the area agreed for the ceasefire. Mr Heykel denied that Egypt herself had violated the cease-fire. In Sidon, Lebanon, one person was killed and five injured when Palestine commandos and local supporters of President Nasser fought gun battles.