393. Memorandum From James M. Ludlow of the Office of United Nations Political and Security Affairs to the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Wilcox)1
Washington, June 12,
1956.
Status of Implementation of Hammarskjold Proposals
- 1.
- While the cease–fire has been observed except for a few isolated shooting incidents on the Jordan–Israel frontier and the Gaza frontier, as the Security Council debate indicated, the Syrians have not unconditionally accepted the cease–fire. They still maintain the condition that if Israel attempts to divert the Jordan River at Banat Yaqub they will fight on the grounds that such action by Israel constitutes an act of aggression.
- 2.
- With regard to the Gaza border situation no agreement has been reached on the location of the proposed fixed UN observer posts on each side of the line. Both sides are still attempting to make an issue of the location of the meetings of the MAC which would [Page 725] be for the purpose of setting up observer posts. The Egyptians have indicated a somewhat higher degree of cooperation than Israel.
- 3.
- There is still no agreement on the Israeli–Syrian observer situation on Lake Tiberias, although both sides have tended to observe the early suggestions which General Burns laid down with regard to Israeli shore patrolling rights and Syrian fishing and watering rights.
- 4.
- As a result of the Secretary General’s request twenty–one new military observers have been added to the UNTSO bringing the total number on duty to sixty–one. The twenty–one new observers came from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. The breakdown of the number of military observers by country is as follows: Australia 4, Belgium 7, Canada 10, Denmark 4, France 8, New Zealand 7, Norway 4, Sweden 9, and the United States 8.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 684A.86/6–1256.↩