Israelis dismantle U.N. check-point

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33382, 14 November 1973, Page 17

Israelis dismantle U.N. check-point

(N.Z.P.A. -Reuter—Copyright)

TEL AVIV, November 13.

Israel’s six-point cease-fire agreement with Egypt appeared to be running into difficulty 7 today as the Prime Minister (Mrs Meir) prepared to report to Parliament on her visits to Washington and London: Israeli and United Nations troops were involved in an incident on the Cairo-Suez road yesterday, when Israeli soldiers pulled down a check-point which had been erected by troops attached to the United Nations peace-keeping force.

Egyptian and Israeli officers had earlier met for three hours in a tent at Kilometre Marker 101 to discuss implementing the cease-fire accord, but the talks ended in deadlock. Authoritative sources say that the Egyptians were demanding that Israel must relinquish military control of the road, while the Israelis insisted that the accord nowhere mentioned “control/’

The agreement calls, for Israel to hand over; check-points on the roadj to United Nations troops, to be followed immediately by an exchange of prisoners. An Israeli military communique said that Israeli soldiers dismantled the checkpoint because it isolated an Israeli position. An Israeli officer said that

|he saw “some pushing and shoving” between Israeli soldiers and Finnish troops of the United Nations force, who had planted a United Nations flag and said that they were taking over the road block. “We told them ‘Just a minute, we’re not selling check-points here. Blood has been spilt for this’,’’ the officer said. “An Israeli soldier took down the United Nations flag, and handed it back to the Finnish troops.’’

According to the Israeli [sources, another sticking, i point in the talks between; I Major-General Aharon Yariv! [and Major-General Mohamed! Abdel Ei Gamazi in the tent at i Kilometre Marker 101 came! when the Egyptians did not bring to the meeting a full list of their Israeli prisoners. Israeli officials in Tel Aviv said last night that they had not yet received a full list. Israel says that about 300 Israelis are held prisoner in Egypt, and she wants to exchange them for the 7000 i Egyptians she holds. [ According to Egypt’s military spokesman, MajorGeneral Ezzeddin Mohtar, Egypt has so far handed over lists naming 110 Israeli prisoners, and will finish drawing up the lists of prisoners within the next few days. A meeting in Cairo of the Foreign Ministers of the 18 Arab League States had been called for November 24, to discuss united Arab action over the Middle East crisis, according to the official Middle East News Agency. The meeting is to prepare for an Arab summit conference in Algiers before the end of [the month, to plan a unified i strategy. Formal guarantee The United Nations Secretary of State (Dr Henry Kissinger) says that the Nixon Administration is considering a formal guarantee of Israel’s security if the Jewish nation agrees to a peace treaty calling for her withdrawal from occupied Arab territory. Dr Kissinger mentioned the possibility of a formal guarantee for Israel in a television interview yesterday during a break in 'his talks with Chinese leaders in Peking. He said that support of Israel’s existence had been “a constant American policy,” and that Senator J. William Fulbright’s proposal for an Israeli-American security treaty was only one of the ideas under consideration. Dr Kissinger said: “If the peace negotiations between Israel and the Arabs succeed, there will be the very serious problem, especially for Israel, of how her security can be assured, because of the withdrawals she will have to make from the territories she has occupied in the last two Arab-Israeli wars. “At this point, the question of guarantees will arise, and we will then have to ask the question: What sort of guarantees — unilateral, from several countries, and so forth. “An Israeli withdrawal is essential to successful peace negotiations, but I would assume that if the negotiations succeed there will be a very serious problem, especially for Israel, of how her security can be assured under conditions when the final borders will certainly be different from the cease-fire lines, and when withdrawals are involved.”

Trimaran overdue Shipping is being asked to watch for a British family of six now a fortnight overdue at Gibraltar en route from Britain to New Zealand in a 37-foot trimaran, Lloyds Shipping Agency reports. The trimaran Worcestershire Sorceress left Brest on October 23.—London, Nov. 13.