The Phoenix Jewish news., 1957-06-07
SHOOTING WAR THREAT
SEEN IN SYRIA-ECYPT
ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVITY

old SwampS enter the Jordan river.
The acting chief of staff of the
United Nations Truce Supervision
Organization, Col. Byron v. Leary,
had already inspected the bridge,
had already reported to the council
that the span had been built in
Legitimate pursuit of civilian
Israeli objective-the draining OF
the Huleh swamps.
EVERYONE ON the council knew
l-and Asha himself lnew-that the
council would not heed his request
that Colonel Leary be reversed,
that Israel be ordered to dismantle
the bridge. AS it turned out, the
council did not hold with Syria on
the issue of the bridge. Then why
all the hubbub?
The reason was that neither Sy-
ria nor Egypt is interested in that
bridge. What interested them, inn
mediately, was to get the council
to take note of the fact that the
entire Arab-Israel armistice regime
has broken down. The Arabs want
the armistice regime mended,
Shored up, made stronger than it
ever was. Secretary General Dag
Hammarskjold wants the same
thing.
Syria's long, plaintive, pettifog-
ging attack against Israel accomp-
lished that immediate purpose. Vir-
tually every member of the council
expressed himself in favor of re-
building, reaffirming the armistice
regime-a regime which, in the
view of ISraelS Prime Minister
David Ben Gurion, is as obsolete
as Colonel Nasser's myth of Egyp-
tian superiority on the battlefield.
SYRIA AND Egypt are isolated
from their Arab League "breth-
ren." Syria has been caught red
handed as party to the abortive
revolution against King HuSSein of
Jordan. Egypt has been denounced
by Jordan in the same connection.
Saudi Arabia and Iraq are lined
up with Jordan against Egypt and
Syria. Lebanon is fighting mad
against Syria.
| Thus, the two isolated ruling
cliques in Damascus and Cairo find
it necessary to gamble in an effort
to get all the Arab League men,
berS together for one last assault
on Israel. They are trying the dip
lomatic front first. They are trying
United Nations blackmailing tao
tics against ISrael-the kind of
tactics which they employed dur
ing the Sinai-Gaza crisis last fall
and winter.
BUT THEY ARE ready to try
other methods. Even while the is
sue of the bridge was sub judice,
still under council discussion, Sy-
rias prime minister announced
that his country's forces would
take care of that bridge if the coun-
Gil did not order its dismantling.
Undoubtedly, Israel, aware of that
threat, is prepared to meet it.
! The day after the council men,
berS had their ears worn thin by
ASha'S irrelevanceS and distortions,
, other events took place. Along the
: Syria-ISraeli border, shooting broke
out, lasting for two hours; fortun-
ately, there were no Israeli casual
, ties.
: Three miles from the GAIA Strip
/ frontier, that same day, one Israeli
was killed and another was wound
/ ed when the tractor in which they
were riding ran over land mine.
Israel easily traced the mine-laying
, to Egyptian responsibility; Egyp-
!, tian infiltratorS had crossed into
Israel right through the lines pat
rolled by the United Nations Emer-
gency Force.
THAT SAME DAY, too, King
, Saud of Saudi Arabia-despite his
! diSpleasure with NaSSer an
nounced plans to go to Burma soon
with an encourage of 200 officials
for a formal visit. 1t so happens
that Burma is one of the few Asian
countries having very friendly re-
lationS with Israel. King Saud
doesn't like NaSSer but he hates
Israel more-and is preparing to
try to drive a wedge between Bur
ma and Israel.
Add together all these signs -
and they portend trouble. Syria lost
its Security Council demand for the
dismantling of the Huleh bridge,
but it did get agreement on its
desire for a further report from
Colonel Leary about Israeps al
legged failure to cooperate with the
Truce Supervision Organization
and the Mixed Armistice Commits
sions. Such report will be filed
here in the next few weeks.