Evening star., 1948-10-18
Israel Rejects
u. n. Proposal
ForCeaseFire
Willing, However,
To Meet With Egypt
For Peace Talks
BY the Associated Press

TEL AVN, Israel, Oct. 18.-
Israel accepted tonight a United
Nations offer to arrange peace
talks with Egypt on the fighting
In the Negeb. However, she re-
1ected a ease-f1re proposal.
The Foreign Once said no cease
fire proposal would be accepted
until Israel is assured the Egyptians
will behave.
In actions last night, Jewish
troops stormed and captured heights
dominating the road through the
Negeb, Palestine's southern desert.
A dispatch from Associated Press
Correspondent Carter L. Davidson
at the front said the Jews had sue
ceeded in blasting open their supply
route to the desert.
Willing to Meet Any Time.
An Israeli Foreign Office spokes-
man said the United Nations had
proposed a four-day truce in fight
Ing Ito settle peacefully the basic
differences between the Egyptians
and Israel in the Negeb" and sug-
gested peace talks in Jerusalem.
Israel, he said, is ready to meet
the Egyptians any time, any place
for peace discussions. A cease fire
Is impossible, he added, unless the
United Nations can guarantee the
Egyptians will not take advantage
Of such a truce to improve their
positions.
Israel has thrown a top COM
mander into the battle for control
Of the Negeb desert area where
reports indicated heavy casualties
as Jews and Egyptians struggled
flercely.
GAIA Evacuation Reported.
The noon comrnunique said bomb
ing targets for the third consecutive
night were the El Arish air base,
the city Of GAIA, which is both the
seat of the new Arab government
for Palestine and the Egyptian head
quarters, and Egyptian troop centers
at Majdal, Faluja and Beersheba.
There were reports here, which
could not be confirmed, that Arab
forces were evacuating GAIA.
(34 words deleted by CENSOR.
q. N. observers stationed at GAIA
apparently had pulled out for bases
farther south. Those in Tel Aviv
speculated that they might be with
drawn completely because OF Israel's
defiance of the cease fire order and
her refusal to let the observers 90
to the front.
Unofficial informants said that
unless the Egyptians strike back in
force, the present phase of the fight
ing appears to be near an end.
That would indicate, if it is true,
that the Israeli forces feel they now
are strong enough to hold the
Negeb.
No Egyptian Blow.
The Negeb was placed under
Jewish control by last years U. N
partition decision, but Count Folke
Bernadotte, the assassinated Pale
stine mediator, recommended that
1t go to the Arabs instead. The
Jews object to this strenuously.
Thus far, the unofficial sources
here said, there has been no real
Egyptian counter blow-either in the
air or on the ground.
There was speculation that the
Egyptians might hold of in an eff
fort to present the Israel attack as
Q f1agrant truce breach.
Can Egyptian communique Sat-
urday night said 500 Jews had
been killed in fighting in the
desert that day.
Censorship Bars Details.
Military censorship blacked out
several key details of the fighting,
even barring use of the Israeli COM
mander's name and an order of the
day to his troops throwing light on
the scope and aims of the attack.
The fighting was reported CEN
tered around GAIA, main Egyptian
military base in Palestine and
capital of the newly proclaimed
Arab government of the Holy Land |
The Israeli command said it had
penetrated Egyptian troop bases but
would not reveal their exact loca-
tion. The Egyptians were reported
by the Jews to be retaliating with
artillery fire directed at Jewish set
Elements northeast of GAIA.
Israeli government spokesmen
(See PALESTINE, Page A-4D