Jews to Accept Longer Truce, Bar Peace Plan, NY Herald Tribune, July 7, 1948.

Bernadotte to Get Answer Today, With Rejection of His Changes in Partition

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By Kenneth Bilby

By Wireless to the Herald Tribune Copyright, 1948, New York Herald Tribune Inc.

TEL AVIV, July 6.-Israel will indicate tomorrow to Count Folke Bernadotte its approval of a truce extension, but there appeared little likelihood today that the United Nations mediator will win Jewish support of his plan for demilitarization of Jerusalem and Haifa’s dock and refinery areas.

After studying the text of Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok’s letter relocating his nine-point Palestine peace program, Count Bema dotte departed for Cairo to receive the Arab League’s answer to his request for a truce extension. He will return tomorrow for the Jewish answer, which government leaders are drafting tonight and which the Cabinet will ratify tomorrow morning.

In two meetings with the mediator today, Mr. Shertok won an important concession in connection with the truce prolongation. Count Bernadotte agreed that if the case-fire continues, Jewish immigrants of fighting age will no longer be compelled to remain in camps during the truce, although they will be prohibited from military activity.

May Accept Four-Week Limit

The mere fact that Mr. Shertok asked for a modification of terms was an indication that the Jews would adhere to their proclaimed policy of halting fire if the Arabs do. It is believed the Israel government will accept a time limit up to four weeks.

On the mediator’s separate proposals for demilitarization of the Holy City and Haifa, the government’s reception is distantly cool. The proposals for U. N. control of Haifa’s ports and dormant oil refineries will almost certainly be rejected as an infringement on the Jewish state’s sovereignty and a violation of the U. N.’s original partition decision, which placed the port city fully within Israel’s boundaries.

On Jerusalem, the government, according to official sources, will not consider internationalization as long as Count Hernadotte’s original suggestion for eventual Arab control of the Holy City is not repudiated. Israel will agree to a limited truce extension in the Holy City, but it will not take demilitarization which does not provide for a permanent international regime as ordered in the U. N. partition.

Firm About Jerusalem

The government is bucking strong pressure for both Right and Left-wing factions to any more peace talk about Jerusalem. The shock of Count Bernadotte’s suggestion for Arab control has not worn off. A highly placed government official said its eject had been this-

“It destroyed any possibility of concessions on our part in regard to the rest of the plan. Psychologically, it was a grave error. Bernadotte failed to understand that most Jews would rather give up Tel Aviv or any other city rather that let the Arabs take Jerusalem.”

There is still a feeling here that the truce will continue despite Arab announcements that they will begin to fight on Friday. Big power pressure on the Arab League, primarily from America and Great Britain, will force the Arabs to continue at peace, in the opinion of many Jewish officials.

At a press conference this afternoon, Count Bernadotte did not seem pessimistic despite the stinging rejections of his first suggestions. He emphasized that they were only suggestions-not formal proposals.

Mr. Shertok’s reply to Count Bernadotte’s peace plan suggested that the mediator should reconsider his whole approach to a Palestine settlement. It did not in any sense. however, present barriers to further negotiations.

The Foreign Minister’s most emphatic views were concentrated on Count Bernadotte’s proposal for Arab control of Jerusalem. The Jewish people were deeply wounded by this, Mr. Shertok wrote, and they would resist any such plan with all the force at their command.

“The provisional government must make it clear that the Jewish people, the state of Israel and the Jews of Jerusalem will never acquiesce in the imposition of Arab domination over Jerusalem, no matter what formal municipal autonomy and right of access to holy places the Jews of Jerusalem might be allowed to enjoy, Mr. Shertok asserted.

Bars Immigration Restriction

Any restriction of immigration was rejected as an infringement of Israel’s independence and sovereignty. “There can be no question of any Israel government accepting the slightest derogation, in favor of any joint or international body, from Israel’s sovereignty as regards control of her immigration policy,” the reply declared.

The underlying complaint in the answer was that the U. N. partition decision was nullified in the mediator’s suggestions. It indicated, with surprising boldness, a Jewish desire to extend territorial boundaries and described the partition borders as “an irreducible minimum” without specifically refusing a territorial exchange of the Negeb for Western Galilee, and it discouraged any effort to take away territory secured by conquest without suitable compensation outside the present borders.

Count Bernadotte refused to admit discouragement. He said the door was still open for further peace negotiations. Even if both sides refused a truce extension, he said, “I will not throw my ax into the sea-there might be times later when a mediator will be needed.”

He divorced the question of demilitarizing Jerusalem and Haifa’s docks and refineries from the truce in general and hinted that he would continue to work for these objectives, even if fighting broke out again.

Under persistent badgering from Hebrew reporters about his Haifa plan. Count Bernadotte confessed frankly that it was motivated by the world’s needs for oil refined in the Palestine port city. He promised that the Jews would get their fair share of fuel if demilitarization led to re-opening of the pipeline from Kirkuk, Iraq. He said he had been approached by several governments, presumably European, to take some action which would lead to re-opening of the refineries.