PEACE TALKS TO-DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27018, 1 March 1949, Page 5

PEACE TALKS TO-DAY

ISRAEL AND ARAB STATES HARD BARGAINING FORECAST NZPA-—Copyright Rec. 9 p.m. TEL-AVIV, Feb. 28.. An Israeli military spokesman said peace talks will begin simultaneously to-morrow on Rhodes and at Ras El Nakura, on the northern Palestine border. The negotiations on Rhodes will be with Transjordan and those at Ras El Nakura with the Lebanese. Both will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Ralph Bunche, the acting United Nations mediator for Palestine. A message from London says that the Daily Telegraph prophesies that there will be some hard bargaining with Israel over the Eastern Negeb in the armistice talks at Rhodes. “Transjordan, whose forces have not suffered defeat, will be able to take a firmer line than Egypt and will speak also for Iraq. If the spokesmen of both sides think- realistically there seems no reason why a common basis for an armistice should not be found.” Evacuation of Egyptians The Egyptian brigade,, which has been trapped in the Faluja pocket in Southern Palestine for three months, began its evacuation on Saturday as agreed in the Israel-Egyptian armistice. The first day of the three-day evacuation passed off smoothly. The Egvptian troops left for Gaza, which is the first stage of their journey home. A United Nations spokesman said there had been outstanding co-opera-tion from both Jews and Arabs.