Evening star., 1955-03-07
U.N. Armistice Group
Calls Israel Brutal
Aggressor al GAIA
BY the A,soeioted Press

BY the Assoei1isd Press
JERUSALEM. Mar. 7.-Israel
stood charged by the q. N. Mixed
Armistice Commission today as
a brutal" aggressor who delib-
erately attacked Egyptian forces
in the GAIA strip a week ago.
The armistice group said the
bloody assault in which 38 Egyp-
tions and eight Israelis died, vio-
lated the 1949 Palestine truce
agreement.
The commissions ruling yes
terday heightened speculation at
U. NJ headquarters in New York
that the Security Council would
vote similar censure against
Israel when it takes up the ex-
plosive issue again next week.
Maj. Gen. Edison L. M. Burns
of Canada, U. N. Palestine truce
chief. was expected to leave for
New York in a few days to give
the Security Council a personal
report on the GAIA incident,
which has strained relations in
Palestine to the breaking point.
Voted Over Israeli Protest.
At yesterdays meeting on the
Egyptian-I Israeli border, the truce
commission adopted an Egyptian
resolution declaring the GAIA
attack February % "was COM
mitted by Israeli regular army
forces against an Egyptian regu-
lar army force" 1t was carried
over Israeli objections by the
votes of the Egyptian delegation
and the U. N. chairman. Com
mandant Francois Gicomaggi Of
France.
At the same time the commits
sion brushed aside an Israeli
counter-complaint that an Egyp-
tian unit had ambushed an
Israeli patrol, starting a running
fight that took the Israelis into
Egyptian territory. This COM
plant was killed off when the
Egyptian delegation voted
against it and Chairman Gico-
maggi abstained.
Israel appealed the condem-
nation decision to a special COM
mittee headed by Gen. Burns,
who was not present at the
eight-hour meeting. Col. Salah
Gohar. senior Egyptian delegate
to the armistice commission,
labeled the appeal a delaying
action" designed to keep the
commissions condemnation from
going to the Security Council.
Refugees Demand Arms.
At its initial meeting on the
GAIA incident last Friday, all
the Security Councils II mem
bers except Russia denounced
the affair. Russia remained
silent. Most of the rest indicated
they blamed Israel and voiced
sympathy for Egypt.
Border tension was heightened
over the week end by more DEM
onstrations in the Egyptian held
GAIA area. For the second time
Arab refugees marched to Gov
ernment House and demanded
that Egyptian authorities give
them arms to fight the ISraelis.
AS a safety precaution, 16
wives and children of the U. N.
truce observers in the area were
sent to the Arab sector of
Jerusalem. In earlier demon
strations the refugees stoned the
truce observers headquarters in
GAIA and burned U. N. food de-
pots where supplies had been COL
lected for the refugees.
The general nervousness in
the GAIA area was boosted, by
rumors that the Israeli Army
was moving armored units to
points near the frontier.
Aggression Charged.
Complaints of Israeli aggres-
sion by two other Arab states
Syria and Jordan-added to the
atmosphere of crisis.
A Syrian military spokesman
in Damascus said his govern
ment had complained to the
Syrian-Israeli Mixed Armistice
Commission that 200 Israeli
soldiers had invaded a demili-
tariZed zone Saturday and fired
on the Syrian outpost near Jisr
Banat Yakoub. The spokesman
also charged that an Israel YES
sci on Houla Lake fired on an
other Syrian post. No casualties
were reported in either incident.
Jordan complained Saturday
night to the Israeli-Jordan
Mixed Armistice Commission
that an aged Arab Bedouin re-
ported seeing an Israel patrol
gun down five of his kidnapped
Arab comrades in a revenge
Staying.
An Israel army spokesman
said thorough investigation
had determined that no Israel
army units were involved in the