Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-29
IsroeIi-Arob Problems
Defy Outside Solution


will guarantee your frontiers
once and for all.
Israeli Objections
To this wonderfully simple So
luton, the Israelis raise two basic
objections: What leads the West
ern powers to believe that q set
tlement can be bought on any
terms which would not mean
the destruction Of Israel? What
guarantees can they give that.
III a settlement is made. the Arab
League will abandon its ambi-
ton to annihilate the Jewish
state?
They are quite willing. they
say, to explore these questions.
They recall that Mr.. Ben Gurion
himself has offered repeatedly to-
meet Col. Nasser anywhere, any
time" to talk about the terms of
a settlement. But they remain
extremely skeptical of the an
swers they may receive.
The Israelis, in fact, are in
clined to feel that an overall
package settlement is out Of the
question in view Of the public
claims being made by Arab
leaders. They prefer a gradual
approach toward an agreement
arrived at in the course Of face
Ito-face talks with individual
Arab leaders-talks aimed pri-
Imarily at establishing the pres
ent truce agreement and re-
Ilieving the causes Of tension
along the existing frontiers.
They are highly dubious about
the value Of mediation by an out
side power. For one thing, their
previous experience with media
tion--such as Eric Johnston's
patient efforts to work out an
agreement between Jordan and
Israel on division of the Jordan
Iwaters-have not been encour-
aging. For another, there is .
feeling that, in the present stu
alton, really disintereSted third
power would be hard to find.
Certainly, the outside sugges-
lions that have been made so
far have done more harm than
good Sir Anthony Eden's vague
suggestion of a territorial COM
promise with the Arabs has
'crystalized Israeli resistance to
any territorial concessions and
Increased sensitivity to- all kinds
.of encroachment from the Arab
side. One Of the more interesting
theories about the TiberiuS raid
was that it was timed DELHI
Ierately to emphasize this point
to the Arabs and to the Foreign
Office.
Concessions May Come
Perhaps. the Israelis are not
really quite as tough as they
sound on the matter Of boun-
daries. In contrast to Mr.. Ben
Gurion's vow that he will never
surrender one inch of Israeli soil.
many Israeiis seem able to dis
cusS possible boundary changes
fairly dispassionately. Mr.. Ben
Gurion himself. in calmer mo-
ments, admits the possibility Of
mutual adjustments" of a minor
kind. Perhaps. as the facts Of
Israel's situation sink in and the
urgency of a settlement becomes
clearer, the spirit of concession
may grow.
At the same time, the basic
attitudes will remain. From all
the evidence here it seems out
of the question that an Arab
Israel settlement can ever be
achieved on the assumption that:
/. Israel has no right to the
territory it now occupies as the
result of the 1948 war.
2. That broader considera-
tions" de. the threat that the
Arabs will turn toward commu-
nism) should dictate the terms
Of the kind of settlement that is
made.
8. That a solution" of the
Arab Israel problem can be
agreed on by the Western powers
and imposed on the two sides.
Unfortunately. all of these
assumptions seem to underly to
some extent the Western APP
Iproach to the critical problems
of the Near East. Which is the
best reason to suppose that these
problems will grow, if anything.
more critical as time goes on.
It's easy to register and
qualify as a District voter. Go
Il