The revolution and pacts (75). The 1949 Armistice Agreements (XI). At the Security Council. Egypt and Israel kept trading accusations at all levels for ‘aggravating tension' in the region. A front-page report in The Egyptian Gazette of April 20, 1955 provides a good example of this trend. Headlined: Israel Aggravated Tension, Loutfy Tells UN Council, the report said inter alia: “Mr. Omar Loutfy, the Egyptian representative (at the United Nations), told the Security Council last night that Israeli propaganda was trying to picture Egypt as an aggressive country in an attempt to obscure the fact that she had been condemned by the Council for the border clash at Gaza on February 28 (1955)..... “Egypt had accepted the most urgent suggestion of General Burns (Chief UN Observer), namely the establishment of mixed border patrols..... At Egypt's request, the UN observers have been allotted to her side of the demarcation line in order to determine which of the parties was guilty, he said. “The fact that we have accepted all the suggestions of General Burns shows clearly what good will we have, and how ready we are to cooperate in order eliminate the tensions and bring these deplorable incidents to an end, Mr. Loutfi added.” The Gazette report went on to say: “Mr. Abba Eban, the Israeli Ambassador, criticised what he called ‘UN jurisprudence' which, he said, found it against the General Armistice Agreement to commit aggression and to resist aggression.' “He said that the Mixed Armistice Commission solemnly ruled that Israel violated the armistice by being the victim if an unprovoked assault which it resisted, but added that the Chairman attempted to condone Israeli answering fire as a technical violation”. Again, two phrases in the above Gazette report are particularly significant: ‘deplorable incidents' and ‘ready to cooperate'. Added to what might be taken as a significant concession: hosting UN observers on the Egyptian side of the demarcation line, it could be deduced that Egypt-at that time at least-was actually seeking to ‘eliminate the tensions'. [email protected]
