Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-03-02

: troops which remain in
just Is minutes after the APP
pointed hour. Secretary General
Hammarskjold mountd the steps
to the Presidents rostrum. trail
ing Thailand's Prince Wan Wal
thayakon and Deputy Secretary
General Andrew Cordier. Aloof
as ever. Mr.. Hammarskjold
stared out over the huge cham
Der as Prince Wan gavelled for
order.
Mrs. Meir Announces Move
Mrs. Meir. as the first speaker,
strobe to the rostrum, clutching
her statement in her right hand.
Her left held a handkerchief
into which she coughed loudly
through the microphones before
starting to read. Her statement,
delivered in a fiat. Midwestern
American accent. fell matter-of-
factly over the hushed Assembly.
When she finished. adding an
impromptu appeal for co-opera-
ton among the countries of the
Middle East. the audience in the
galleries broke into applause.
Mr.. Lodge followed with a re-
view of the American position
which he described as stead
fast" from the beginning of the
debate. His carefully worded
statement was clearly designed
to soothe anxieties on all sides.
1t was also modest statement.
playing down the Importance of
the negotiations in Washington,
and noting. somewhat ingenu-
ously. that "the General Assem-
bly's efforts 3. are no about
TO come to fruition."
Sees Move as Unconditional
Mr.. Lodge explained it as the
understanding of the United
States that the Israeli with
drawal would be immediate. He
took note" of the declarations
oy Mrs. Meir. in regard to GAIA I
and the Gulf Of Aqaba. but
added:
I'VE do not consider that these
declarations make Israel's with I
drawal conditional.
On the other hand. Mr.. Lodge
repeated previously expressed
views that u. N. forces
could play useful role in the
GAIA Strip. He added. however.
that OBVIOUSLY these matters are
not for the United States alone
10 decide"
More strongly, he recalled the
argument that station
Ing of U. N. forces in the Gulf
Of Aqaba area was essential"
They should stay, he said, "un-
til it is clear that the nom
exercise of any claimed belliger-
ent rights has established in
practice the peaceful conditions
which must govern navigation in /
waters having such an inter- /
interest"
Indicates U. S. Transit
Then he added what amounts |
to the one genuine guarantee"
hat the Israelis can claim with
any reasonable assurance:
In the absence of some over /
riding decision to the contrary.
as by the International Court of
Justice. the United States. on
behalf Of vessels Of United States
registry. is prepared to exercise
The right Of free and innocent
passage and to join with others
TO secure general recognition of
this right"
What followed was largely a
delaying action while the Arab
group made up its mind what
course to follow. A succession of /
speakers from smaller nations
the Israeli decision in
words which echoed those of
Mr.. Lodge. An exception was
France, whose delegate, Gull
Iaume Georges-Picot, went much
further In indorsing the Israeli
position. France. he said, would
that any obstaclel
placed in the path Of free pas
sage lin the Gulf of Aqaba)
would be contrary to interna-
tional law and would open the
possibility Of a resort to meas
lres provided under Article 81
Of the ". M Charter" provid-
ing for the right Of self-defense.
There was a sudden stir in the
nall when Prince Wan called on
midas Delegate Lall. His state
ment would be the key. An all
out attack on the Israeli "as-
sumptions" at this point might
we'll have thrown the whole
carefully engineered plan out OF
gear.
When he finished, it was clear
fhat for q uarv nriaf iy,toruo1 Of
least. the opposition would hold
It's fire. Israel was given two days
10 act on its promise to leave
soil. Monday would be
time enough for the counter
attack to get under way.
$500 Walk OFF Jobs
At Bell Aircraft
BUFFALO. N. Y. Mar, 2 (P,-l