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3rd Army Sends Soldiers Across Canal for Suppli.es
•
BY YITZHAK SHARGIL
Tel Aviv Correspondent
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Be-
tween 25 and 30 trucks, which
form part of the 100 odd
trucks of supplies, mainly
food and water, to the encir-
cled Egyptian 3rd Army on
the eastern bank of the Suez
Canal, by Tuesday evening
had unloaded on the western
bank of the canal. The con-
signments, especially water,
were shipped across the
canal by amphibious tanks of
the Russians.
Because the operation is
slow, the Egyptians sent 50
of their soldiers across the
canal to help unload the
truck s. More amphibious
tanks were also used to
transfer the water containers.
In one instance, the Egyp-
tian solders brought over
their weapons. The Israeli
officers in charge immediate-
ly stopped work and demand-
ed the weapons be returned
to the east bank. It was
agreed later that the arms
will be left on the jetty under
guard.
Israel claimed Monday that
it foiled an attempt by the
3rd Army to break out of en-
circlement. An army- spokes-
man said the Egyptians at-
tempted to throw an infantry
bridge across the Suez Canal
but it was destroyed by Is-
raeli artillery fire.
According to Col Nahman
Karni, the bridge was spot-
ted at dawn about seven kil-
ometers from the southern
outlet of the canal. He said
the Egyptions apparently in-
tended to send a commando
platoon across the canal
from the east to the west
bank. Israeli artillery scored
direct hits and the bridge
capsized, he said.
(At the UN, Israeli Ambas-
sador Yosef Tekoah charged
that helicopter flights by
Egyptians toward the 3rd
Army constituted a "flagrant
violation" of the cease-fire
agreement by Egypt. In a
letter to Secretary General
Kurt Waldheim, Tekoah ac-
cused the Egyptions of addi-
tional cease-fire breaches. He
alleged that Egyptian forces
opened tank, artillery and
small arms fire against Is-
raeli forces in the southern
sector of the canal and that
they also fired ground-to-air
missiles across the cease-fire
lines.)
Egyptian and Israeli physi-
cians' worked side by side
treating wounded Egyptian
POWs in Israeli hands.
The movie house in a cap-
tured Egyptian army camp
on the west side of the canal
has- been turned into a hos-
pital. The Egyptian doctors
themselves are POWs.
One of them, Capt. Ahmed
Makdi Smacka, 28, told news-
• men that he received full co-
operation a n d assistance
from his Israeli colleagues.
He said he was a graduate
of the Alexandria Medical
School and had been working
in a field hospital unaware
that Israeli forces had
crossed the Suez Canal until
he was taken prisoner.
The first units of the United
...Nations food supply convoy
for the encircled 3rd Army
passed through Israeli lines
Sunday after elements of the
3rd Army opened fire on the
very route over which the
supplies were to come.
Lt. Gen. Haim Barley
warned Egyptian Gen. Bash-
ir Sharif that any further
shooting by the Egyptians
would prejudice the passage
of supplies.
Egyptian forces at Ismailia
fired SAM missiles at an Is-
raeli plane flying over the
Suez Canal.
Two hundred Finnish sold-
iers, a unit of the United Na-
tions Emergency Force, en-
tered Suez town Sunday after
having been turned back
twice by Israeli forces hold-
ing the approaches to the
town.
One Israeli soldier was
killed and two were wounded
when their vehicle struck a
mine on a road near the Leb-
anese border. Israel lodged
complaints with the UN truce
observers over the Egyptian
shooting incidents.
But the food convoy, agreed
to by Israeli Gen. Aharon
Yariv at his post-midnight
meeting with Egyptian offi-
cers, was allowed passage.
The supply vehicles, driven
of 12 trucks entered the city
of Suez with medical supplies
and blood plasma for the ci-
vilian population reported to
number about 15,000.
A meeting of historic sig-
nificance for the Middle East
took place shortly after mid-
night Sunday in an impro-
vised shed near the 101-kilo-
meter marker on the Suez-
Cairo road, an area held by
Israeli forces on the west
bank of the Suez Canal.
For the first time since the
Sinai war of 1956, senior Is-
raeli and Egyptian officers
met face-to-face to discuss a
truce. They agreed to meet.
again.
The meeting between Is-
raeli and Egyptian officers
was the first outcome of the
UN Security Council's deci-
sion to send a 7,000-member
international peace - keeping
force to the Middle East un-
der its auspices. The UN au-,
thorized $30,000,000 for the
force for the first six months.
The implications of this
first formal contact in 17
years were submerged in the
laconic phrases of the offi-
cial communique.
It was learned that an Is-
raeli unit, acting on orders,
prepared the shed, arranged
illumination, placed a table
and benches and laid out
some light refreshments.
A small convoy approached
the shed from the Egyptian
side. The vehicles brought
a number of senior Egyptian
officers, headed by a major
general. Then the Israeli
cars arrived.
The Israeli officers were
headed by Yariv. He was ac-
companied by four other offi-
cers serving as his aides.
Pressures From U. S. May Hurt Israel Position
BY JOSEPH POLAKOFF I
Washington Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The
impression seemed to be
gaining here that the United
States, itself under severe in-
ternational and some domes-
tic strain, is putting pres-
sures on Israel to back down
from its hard-won military
and political positions.
While little hard evidence
was publicly visible, knowl-
edgeable observers held that
Washington is saying in ef-
fect to Israel: "We saved you
from the Arabs and the Rus-
sions with our weapons and
veto power in the UN. Now
you listen to us and start
moving toward a quick and
practical solution with the
Arabs—you know, UN Reso-
lution 242 of Nov. 22, 1967."
President Nixon and Sec-
retary of State Henry A. Kis-
singer have reiterated, since
Egypt and Syria attacked Is-
rael on Oct. 6, the long-stand-
ing U. S. commitment to Res-
olution 242, and now it ap-
pears that the administration
is about to go through with
insistance that Israel comply
with it.
Domestic, European and
Japanese fears of an oil boy-
cott and the problems asso :
ciated with that, the fragility
of Soviet-American detente
which underlies much of the
Nixon administration's viabil-
ity and the U. S. desire to
return to friendly relations
with the Arab states, underly
the urgings to Israel not to
"miss this opportunity" for a
Middle East settlement.
Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat's dispatch of his act-
ing foreign minister, Ismail
Fahmi, to Washington is
based on the supposition that
Washington is ready to listen
to Egypt's plight and the re-
turn of Egyptian feeling that
only Washington can bring
about Israel's withdrawal
7rom Sinai.
Some of the propaganda of
peace and good will that pre-
ceded the Egyptian-Syrian at-
tack on Israel Oct. 6 is again
manifested in Egyptian For-
eign Minister Mohammed H.
el-Zayyat's remarks in Rome
on his way home to Cairo
from New York's UN ses-
sions, that he trusts Israel
will appreciate Egypt's "au-
thentic" desire for peace.
These are indications that
Washington may veer some-
what toward Egypt and away
from Israel. Another indica-
tion was the statement by
State Department spokesman
Robert J. McCloskey that the
cease fire should not be used
54 Friday, November 2, 1973 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
—
by UN personnel, are inspect-
ed by Israeli soldiers before
being allowed to proceed.
Barley has made it clear that
no ambulances will be per-
mitted. The evacuation of
some 2,000 wounded Egyptian
soldiers of the 3rd Army has
been -held up until Egypt
agrees to exchange wounded
Israeli soldiers in its hands.
The 100-vehicle UN convoy
proved difficult to assemble,
mainly because of the short-
age of drivers. It was decid-
ed that the convoy would be
split into units of 10 trucks
each.
Three Austrian officers,
members of the UN Emerg-
ency Force, are in charge of
the convoy. They conferred
with Barley after which he
authorized the convoy to be-
gin,
Meanwhile, another convoy
to force the surrender of an
army. This was the clearest
U. S. rebuke yet to Israel
since the fighting started.
McCloskey's remark came in
his response to a question
about Israeli reports that the
U. S. pressured Israel into
allowing help to be given to
the trapped Egyptian 3rd
Army.
McCloskey denied that pro-
viding food, water and medi-
cines to the Egyptians was
the equivalent of pressure on
Israel. He noted that Israel
had made the proposal for a
meeting between field com-
manders.
The aid was arranged un-
der UN auspices. But private-
ly a senior State Department
official agreed that it was
"perfectly obvious" that the
Soviet Union was worried
about the 3rd Army surround-
ed on the Suez Canal's east
bank and the effect its sur-
render would have on Soviet-
Egyptian relations.
This, in turn, had the effect
of causing the Soviet govern-
ment to urge the United
States to tell the Israelis that
it would rescue the Egyptian
forces by its own troops if
necessary. Such a threat of
action is widely believed
here.
Kissinger told newsmen
Monday after a closed-door
briefing he gave to members
of the House Armed Services
Committee that the chances
of peace were better than
they have been during the
past 20 years.
"We believe tha t the
chances are better because
out of this tragedy of war
each participant should learn
the impossibility of continu-
ing the conditions that pro-
duced the conflict," Kissin-
ger said. He added, "Each
side has suffered a great
deal, and I think all parties
should learn that a purely
military solution cannot be
achieved."
Names of Israeli POWs
Trickle In From Egypt;
Syria Remains Adamant
GENEVA (JTA)—The In-
ternational Red Cross Com-
mittee Wednesday handed
over to Israel a list of 39 ad-
ditional wounded Israeli pris-
oners of war.
The list was supplied to the
Red Cross in Geneva by its
delegate in Cairo, Marcel
Boisard, who Tuesday was al-
lowed to visit 45 wounded Is-
raeli POWs in Egypt.
A Red Cross spokesman in
Geneva said that the names
of six of the wounded had al-
ready been supplied to Isra-
el - as . part• of - the first -list
made known by Egypt.
Though the Red Cross
spokesman was not prepared
to go into details, he said that
all the men seemed to be
treated in accordance with
the Geneva Convention.
Israeli sources here said
that an additional list was
expected some time this
week.
The Red Cross delegate in
Damascus has not yet been
authorized to visit the Israeli
POWs held by Syria. Syria,
moreover, has not yet re-
leased the names and identi-
ties of the Israeli POWs nor
set a definite date by which
these lists would be made
available.
Since the cease fire of Oct.
22, Israel has pressed Egypt
and Syria to release the iden-
tities of the Israeli POWs. Is-
rael already has supplied the
Red Cross with some 5,000
names out of a total of 7,000
and has enabled the Red
Cross delegate in Tel Aviv to
visit the prisoners both in
their places of detention and
in the hospitals in which the
wounded are being taken care
of.
Observers in Geneva be-
lieve that Egypt has put for-
ward a number of conditions,
including the supply of blood
plasma and medical equip-
ment to the men of the be-
sieged Egyptian 3rd Army
in order to permit the Red
Cross to visit the Israeli
wounded.
Both the American and
Soviet delegations in Geneva
have been informed of the
negotiations' progress. It is
not known whether Washing-
ton and Moscow played an
active role in smoothing over
the difficulties and enabling
Israel and Egypt to find a
compromise solution.
Egypt and Israel both have
signed the Geneva Conven-
tion, making it mandatory
for them to release the lists
of POWs and proceed to the
immediate repatriation of
those seriously wounded.
In his speech to the Knes-
set Monday, Defense Minis-
ter Moshe Dayan reported
on the planned exchange of
wounded. He said that Lt.
Dan Avidan, a four-year pris-
oner in Egypt, was already
home.
With regard to the huge
number of Egyptian POWs in
Israel—almost 7,000—Dayan
said he was hopeful of even-
tual full exchange. There are
320 missing Israelis on the
southern front. Dayan said
he hoped Egypt would keep
its word since there had been
experiences of Egypt's. not
honoring its undertakings. •
Dayan spoke in reply to an
urgent Likud motion on the
POWs. Some 300 relatives of
missing men demonstrated
outside the Knesset against
the government's decision to
allow food and water to the
surrounded 3rd Army before
a POW exchange. A delega-
tion of protesters was re-
ceived by Knesset members.
Dayan could hold out no
hope regarding POWs in
Syria. Damascus had not re-
sponded to any Red Cross or
international appeals, with
127 men missing in the north
and two more held by Leba-
non.
At the United Nations, Is-
raeli Ambassador Yosef Te-
koah submitted two letters to
Secretary General Kurt Wald.
heim, one of them charging
Syria and Egypt with failure
to supply prisoner-of-war lists
in violation of the Geneva
Convention and the other
charging that armed terrorist
attacks "from Lebanese terri-
tory against civilian inhabited
localities in Israel are con-
tinuing unabated."
An annex appended to Te-
koah's letter contained a
chronological list of 35 ter-
rorist attacks from Lebanese
territory from 6:30 p.m. Oct.
17 to 3:05 a.m. Oct. 24.
The targets of the attacks
were the Israeli settlements
and towns of Shlomi, Manera,
Kiryat Shemona, Kfar Szold,
Metulla, Misgav Am, Har
Dov, Ein Zeitim, Sasa, Safad,
Kfar Giladi, Zar'it, Biriya,
Margaliyot, Kfar Yasif, Ya-
ron, Abassiya and Baram.
"These murderous opera-
tions against the civilian pop-
ulation of Israel are conduct-
ed in coordination with the
war of aggression waged by
Syria against Israel," Teko-
ah wrote, observing that on
Oct. 16 a terrorist delegation -
was received by the Lebanese
government for its support of
their activities.
The Israeli envoy noted in
his POW letter that under the
Geneva Convention "every
party to the conflict is obliged
to give the International Com-
mittee of the Red Cross with-
out delay all the information
set out in that convention re-
garding any prisoner of war
who has fallen into its pow-
er." Israel has been observ-
ing these provisions, he said.
Tekoah accused the Egyp-
tian and Syrian governments
of "inhuman conduct" with
regard to Israeli prisoners of
war in their hands and asked
Secretary General Kurt Wald-
heim to give his "urgent at-
tention to the fact that the
Egyptians and Syrians are
persisting in their violations
of the Geneva Convention."
In a television interview,
Chief of Staff Gen. David Ela-
zar said the meeting between
Israeli and Egyptian officers
was a good sign, and they
probably would continue be-
cause various aspects of the
cease fire remain to be re-
solved. It is premature to
call these talks direct nego-
tiations, Elazar said.
Summing up the war, the
chief of staff said Israel had
"too short" notice of the
Egyptian-Syrian attacks. He
hinted that intelligence as-
sessments were to blame.
But, he added, Israel never
pinned its defense strategy
wholly on early warnings. He
said that since 1970 it had de-
veloped a strategy whereby
the regular army an-', , ir
corps was always prepa \
meet an attack "to avoia ca-
tastrophe" while the reserves
were mobilized.
Speaking on the CBS-TV
program "Face the Nation,"
broadcast via satellite from
Israel, Premier Meir said
Sunday that her government's
decision not to take pre-emp-
tive action against Egypt and
Syria before Oct. 6 and
thereby absorbing the shock
of their first attack, was a
calculated risk and that it
remained to be seen if it was
worthwhile.
Mrs. Meir was asked if she
would take the risk again.
"If this is taken into consid-
eration in all arrangements
that have to be made, we will
say, well, we paid for it," the,
premier replied. "We suf-
fered for it but in the end it
balances well. But if we are
treated as though we started
the war and as though we are
responsible, then I don't
know what," she added.
Asked about arms supplies
from the U. S. in the past
and future, Mrs. Meir agreed
that Israel was becoming
more self-sufficient but indi-
cated that it had a long way
to go and would still "ask our
friends to sell us even more
in the future." She preferred
to speak of "friendship" ra-
ther than "dependence" on
the U. S.
On the question of Pales-
tinians, Mrs. Meir said their
solution was to live in the
state of Jordan which had al-
ways had a majority of for-
mer Palestinians. She re-
peated her old doctrine that
there would be only two
states between the sea and
Iraq.
She noted the "abnormal
situation" that while Jordan-
ian tanks were killing Israe-
lis in Syria, the Jordan River
bridges had remained open.
Israel had striven, she said,
not to disrupt the bridges.
There had been no contact
with Jordan since the war,
she said, implying that there
had been before the war.
She denied the Institute for
Strategic Studies estiw' - of
5,000 Israeli dead and v l-
ed but agreed "we sutic.ed
a lot." Asked if she was
afraid that Sadat, having
been defeated, would, by pol-
itical arrangements, be hand-
ed a victory and become a
hero, she said "I hope not,
but a few things that have
happened in the last few days
make me worry."
Deputy Premier Yigal Al-
lon proposed that both Israel
and Egypt pull back to the
positions they held on the
Suez Canal before war broke
out Oct. 6 as a first step to
peace talks.
He also expressed the opin-
ion that he chances for a
permanent peace settlement
were better now than at any
time since 1948.