348. Editorial Note
On March 4, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion announced to the Knesset that Israel would withdraw its forces from the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. On March 6, the IPC representative in Syria reported to the Embassy in Damascus that Syrian Prime Minister Asali had authorized forthwith that repairs be made on the IPC pipelines in Syria. (Telegram 4674 from Damascus, March 6; Department of State, Central Files, 883.2553/3–657) One week later, the Embassy in Baghdad reported that according to the Iraqi Economic Ministry the pumping of oil through the IPC trans-Syrian pipeline had begun on March 11. (Telegram 1507 from Baghdad, March 12; Ibid., 880.2553/3–1257)