ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION REPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A002200130001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 1, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 24, 1967
• Content Type: IM

25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7 5X1
CENTRAL, INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Director of Intelligence
24 June 1967
Arab-Israeli Situation Report
(As of 4:36 p.m. EDT)
1. With attention at the UN increasingly focused
on the summit talks between President Johnson and
Premier Kosygin, efforts continue behind the scenes
to frame alternative resolutions to the US and Soviet
drafts. The Arabs
Sovet resolution and not to indicate any willingness to
have agreed to maintain their support for the
2. The Ethiopian ambassador to the UN, suggested
to the US mission that what was needed now was a
resolution "supporting the principle of withdrawal"
followed by mention of the other elements necessary
to a solution of the basic Middle East problems, which
should be referred to the Security Council. Mexico,
on the other hand, is working on a "comprehensive"
draft including a call for mutual recognition of
sovereignty, existence, political independence and
territorial integrity; negotiations; and withdrawal of
Israeli forces to 4 June positions. The resolution
would further recommend that the Security Council deal
with freedom of navigation in Suez and the Gulf, the
refugee problem on the basis of compensation or resettle-
ment, agreement on arms limitations, creation of a
separate body status for Jerusalem, and a UN presence.
The Italian ambassador indicated he was still planning
to work out his own draft.
3. The Vatican is meanwhile seeking "broad geo-
graphical sponsorship" for a resolution establishing UN
administration over the old city of Jerusalem.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826A002200130001-7 5X1
4. The Israeli ambassador to the US told Under
Secretary Rostow on 22 June that the Latin American
representatives were a principal key to the outcome in
the Assembly. He said Israel was "slightly encouraged"
about the Latin American positions. Various reports
from Latin American capitals indicate that, in general,
the Latins favor a solution involving guarantees for
Israel along with withdrawal.
5. A reading on the line-up of sub-Saharan African
states was given to Ambassador Harriman by the Ivory
Coast Foreign Minister on 22 June. He said that five
or six countries, including Guinea, Mali, Tanzania, and
Somalia, were committed to the Arabs. The others
favored a neutral position, and the five-state "Entente"
group within OCAM has decided not to vote for any
condemnation of Israel.
6. UK Foreign Office has reacted negatively to
the President's "surprise" proposal of 19 June that UN
members report on all military arms shipments to the
Middle East. The head of the.Foreign Office's Eastern
Department Morris, told the US embassy that whereas
the US is not scheduled to supply significant amounts
of hardware in the next few months, the UK is. If
the Soviets and the French appear to go along with the
US proposal and then in fact ignore the obligation to
report fully, the UK would be left "holding the bag."
Morris also defended the strong UK position on Jerusalem,
noting that the moderate Arab regimes are sorely in
need of some "easily comprehensible evidence of US-UK
'evenhandedness" and that Israel could be dissuaded
from "unconditional annexation" only if the US, UK,
and others Dow took a strong line.
7. The US embassy notes that although the British
remain on the same general wavelength as the US, the UK
is now somewhat keener in looking out for: its own
Middle East interest--mainly commercial--than a month
ago. This shift, the embassy believes, is part of the
government's tactic, in connection with its EEC
application, of accenting its disassociation from
US positions.
8. The embassy notes that the initial shock and anger
felt by many Frenchmen at De Gaulle's 21 June statements
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826A002200130001-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 :CIA-RDP79T00826A002200130001-7 ~X1
are now giving way to embarrassment that De Gaulle has
put France in such an untenable diplomatic position.
De Gaulle's isolation from the country's leaders--
including his own supporters--is becoming increasingly
evident. There is no mechanism which allows Gaullist
supporters to persist in disagreement with the General
on a major question and still remain Gaullists.
10. Although De Gaulle's attitude has found favor
in some of the Arab countries, Tunisian Prime Minister
Bourguibatold Ambassador Harriman that De Gaulle is
no longer a possible mediator because of his press
conference statement. Bourguiba thought Italian Fore-
ign Minister Fanfani might fill such a role.
11. Regret over the lack of a "European" voice
in the Middle East situation, meanwhile, has been expressed
by opposition leaders in France, by Chancellor Kiesinger
in Bonn. and the parliamentarians of the Six assembled
in Strasbourg for a meeting of the European Parliament.
12. Soviet President Podgorny left by plane to 25X1
return to Moscow
13. The press statement released in Cairo after
Podgorny's departure was uninformative, containing only
generalities about exchanging views, strengthening
relations, etc.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7
16. The American Embassy in Jordan with only
preliminary information in hand, is beginning to hear
of a mood of dissatisfaction within the ranks of the
Jordanian army and among some junior grade officers.
The Embassy, however, does not believe it has crystallized
either into firm demands for any specific changes in
the army command or, much less, into a movement to
overthrow the existing regime. The war was a frustrating
one in which few organized battles were fought, and
some criticism is being directed at some middle and
senior grade officers who performed particularly
poorly during the conflict. The army is also having to
undergo a humiliating reorganization with the remnants
of the equipment left after their hasty withdrawal from
the West Bank. King Husayn, however, so far seems to
be untouched by the criticism, and appears to have
maintained his new popularity first won by his recent
trip to Cairo, and later reinforced in the initial
swelling of national pride based on early reports of the
Jordanian Army's performance.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7 5X1
18. The veteran Mapai leadership is taking steps
to frustrate the attempt by the Rafi Party to take over
control of the Israeli government by forcing a merger
with Mapai. To offset gains made among young Mapai
members by Rafi, the party of the Defense Minister Moshe
Dayan, the Mapai "old guard" headed by Prime Minister
Levi Eshkol is trying to consummate a long-discussed
merger with another member of the coalition government,
the Ahdut Avedah Party. Ahdut Avedah is reportedly
considering a merger with another coalition member,
the Mapam Party, and it is possible that all three
parties might combine to resist the Rafi threat.
19. The mission of the International Committee
of Red Cross Societies (ICRC) in Israel is continuing
to encounter an attitude of non-cooperation on the
part of Israeli officials in attempting to organize aid
for West Bankers. According to the American Consul
in Jerusalem, two ICRC representatives in Israel told
them they are being denied permission to travel to the
West Bank area more than once, and have gotten no
cooperation from the Israelis in attempts to establish
an office in the old city of Jerusalem. The ICRC
staffers claim that the Israelis resent the failure of
Magen David, the official Israeli agency corresponding
to the Red Cross, to be accepted for the past 19 years
and want it to carry on all Red Cross type activities on
the West Bank.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7 )X1
25X1
21. The Soviet airlift to Arab countries resumed
today.
No in orma i.on is avai a e
on the cargo carried by these transports.
22, The Soviet freighter Nikolay Pirogov, which
No additional Soviet arms carriers have been noted en route
to the Middle East.
a Middle Eastern port--possibly with a military cargo.
may be en route to
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7 -X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/01 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO02200130001-7