ARAB-ISRAELI SITUATION REPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A002200150001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 30, 2004
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 25, 1967
• Content Type: IM

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
25 June 1967
Arab-Israeli Situation Report
(As of 11:00 A.M. EDT)
1. Resolutions which now are crystallizing within
the Latin American and non-aligned groupings at the UN
appear to spell trouble for an approach linking a call
for troop withdrawal directly with the other elements
necessary for a long-term solution to the Arab-Israeli
conflict. The Arabs have probably not yet given their
blessing to these resolutions--which are still in a
formative stage--but they have been consulted at some
point in the deliberations of both groups. Moreover,
when the General Assembly President suggested to the
Arabs on 23 June that he put a mid-week deadline on the
submission of new resolutions, the Arabs urged him to
wait until the end of this week. The Soviet Union may
have played a role in "coordinating" the non-aligned
draft, for which Yugoslavia has been the moving force.
2. The relatively balanced Mexican concept for a
resolution seems to have been transmuted in a working
group of six Latin Americans (Mexico, Chile, Colombia,
Venezuela, Panama, and Trinidad) into a memo which now
calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the lines
existing on 4 June 1967 as the "prior indispensable basis"
for the establishment of conditions of peace. The use
of peaceful means to solve existing controversies should
then "consolidate" these conditions. In talking with
the US mission, the Chilean delegate (Pinera) defended
this language on the grounds that the situation would
be as it was before the hostilities but that "Israel
would now be protected by its superiority since the Arab
military equipment had been destroyed." The mission had
previously reported that although Pinera was promoting
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the Mexican ideas, he appeared to be trying to work out
something acceptable to the Arabs which might be unac-
ceptable to the US.
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3. Pinera commented that the idea was to build a
solid majority around a "reasonable text." The majority
he envisages is based on the Latin Americans, OCAM, a
few English-speaking Africans, a few Asians, and the
"liberal" West Europeans (Scandinavians, Austria, Ireland).
He would hope to pull over such "non-aligned" as Nigeria,
Kenya, Zambia, and Indonesia. Full Latin American support
for the six-nation memo still seems questionable, however.
The Chilean also made a strong point about the necessity
of having a separate international status for Jerusalem--
presumably the Old City--"as proposed by the Pope."
American group meeting.
the six-member Latin American group intends to speak to
the non-aligned group (radical Africans and Asians, and
Yugoslavia) on Monday afternoon following a full Latin
According to Pinera,
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6. Despite various predictions that a "simple"
withdrawal resolution is likely to succeed in the
Assembly--Italian Foreign Minister Fanfani, for example,
says 72 per cent would vote for unconditional withdrawal--
there is considerable recognition that such a resolution
would in fact accomplish little. Whether or not reali-
zation of this is general enough to influence votes for
a resolution which omits condemnatioh, ".calls .for with-
drawal, and refers the serious problems back to the
Security Council, remains to be seen. Fanfani is
apparently thinking in terms of an alternative which
would in effect be a public statement of principles by
the Assembly, including withdrawal, which would then be
subject to Security Council decision.
7. Meanwhile, more consideration is being given
to the need. of finding a mediator between Arabs and
Israelis. The Brazilian foreign minister has suggested
finding two nations--one with access to Israel and one
with access to the Arabs--to undertake a mediatory role.
The Canadian foreign minister thinks the "ideal course"
would be withdrawal of both the formal US and USSR resolu-
tions now before the Security Council and substitution
of an agreed recommendation to the Council to select
someone to bring about negotiations; if that fails, he
would act as an intermediary.
8. King Husayn is expected to emphasize the refugee
problem in his speech tomorrow to the Assembly, stressing
in particular Israeli "violation" of the 14 June Security
Council resolution on refugees. Reportedly, Husayn will
concentrate forcefully on both the "old and new" refugee
problem.
9. Two members of the British UN delegation expressed
similar views on the eventual necessity of Israel having
to abandon all the occupied territory, including the Old
City of Jerusalem. The "only two acceptable alternatives"
for Jerusalem, according to one UK official, were
restoration of Jordanian control of the Old City or a
new internationalization of Jerusalem, as opposed merely
to international safeguards for the holy places. In
London, meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Brown is coming
under considerable fire from the press over his remarks
in the UN warning Israel against trying to hold on to
Jerusalem and making territorial gains from its victory.
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10. Initial Arab press reaction to the Johnson-
Kosygin summit meeting was relatively restrained; there
were some indications of apprehension that a US-USSR
"deal" was in the works concerning the Middle East.
One Egyptian commentator yesterday stated that during
this crisis, "any amount of bargaining, no matter how
small, would mean surrender to the plot and to some of
the plotter?s goals." Today, however, perhaps in a
gesture to reassure its listeners, Cairo radio quotes
the semi-official Al-Ahram and says that reliable sources
in New York have learned that Soviet Premier Kosygin
"adopted a firm stand on the Middle East crisis during
his meeting with Johnson," and that "the Soviet Union
had not changed its stand." Some Israeli papers today
also expressed fears that an agreement which might be
reached in the Johnson-Kosygin talks would lye at the
expense of Israel.
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division into pro-West neutralists and pro-East neutral-
ists has become sharper with the pro-East factions
receiving substantial support from recent Soviet diplo-
matic support of the Arab position in the UN and elsewhere.
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14. An officer of the Consulate General in Jerusalem
visited Bethlehem on 22 June, but there has been insuf-
ficient reporting on other parts of the West Bank to
determine whether the situation there is typical. There
is almost no flour, powdered milk or canned goods in the
town, and the inhabitants are slaughtering their cattle
because of a feed shortage. Friction between local
Christians and Muslims is increasing. The Christians
believe the town was shelled because the Muslims refused
to surrender. Israeli soldiers spent over $80,000 in
Israeli money after the town fell, but Arab merchants
have subsequently been forbidden to use Israeli money
.and have no way to exchange it. The Israelis have for-
bidden travel to Jerusalem, but Bethlehemites with shops
in Jerusalem face confiscation unless their shops are
opened.
15. Press reports from Baghdad today indicate that
the Iraq Petroleum Company pipeline to the Mediterranean
through Syria will be reopened next week, but oil will
be sold only to selected countries. The Iraqi Cabinet
reportedly approved the decision to reopen the pipeline,
but specified that oil be shipped only to France and
Turkey.
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17. A member of the Soviet delegation to the General
Assembly session admitted that the
Soviet role in the General ssem y was aime merely at
achieving a propaganda victory and restoring Soviet
prestige in Arab eyes. He noted that the focus of action
will have to go back to the Security Council.
18. He indicated that the USSR is aware the Assembly
session will not induce the Israelis to withdraw from
Arab soil. He voiced the possibility that "indirect"
talks might be held between the two sides if some token
withdrawal of Israeli forces were made--or even a promise
of withdrawal. In the long run, he stated, the Middle
East situation could be stabilized only if some system
of "security arrangements" could be constructed.
19. The Soviet implied that Moscow had been worried
about the fate of Nasir after the Arab defeat, fearing
that he might have been replaced by "hotheads" who would
have continued the war, thus placing the Soviets in a
delicate position.
20. Czech Communist Party secretary Vladimir Koucky
is scheduled to arrive in Cairo on 26 June for a three-
day visit as President Novotny's personal envoy. His
delegation includes representatives of the party, the
foreign trade and defense ministries.
21. Another Czech entourage, headed by the secretary-
general in the foreign ministry, Pleskot, is slated to
arrive in Damascus on the same day. Both delegations
are expected to begin negotiations for additional Czech
aid.
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