Official Sources Fear Murder of Israeli POWs by Syria

WASHINGTON (JTA)—The State Department said Wednesday that
it has received reports that the Syrians murdered all Israeli prisoners but
could not confirm this. Department spokesman Paul Hare said he was not
referring to any specific report when he was asked if he was discussing
statements attributed to Pentagon sources. He said he was speaking only in
the "general sense." Other State Department sources, however, said the

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department had received "other reports" which they described as "more
than press reports." These sources would not amplify.
Meanwhile, according to sources in Geneva, Avi Trimor, an Israeli
representative at the conference, told newsmen Wednesday that the "real
reason" Syria is not coming to the talks is because of its treatment of
Israeli POWs.

Detailed Stories on Page 5

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December °Ift4,„, 1973

U.S., USSR Select Waldheim
To Preside at Geneva; Israel
Delegation Headed by Eban

Israel's Aim: Diplomatic
Relations; Arab View:
Expel Post-'48 Settlers

The Jewish Hope!

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The mood in Israel on the
eve of the Geneva peace conference is one of deep
skepticism about ultimate Arab aims, resignation to
long protracted negotiations fraught with dangers and
pitfalls and determination to hold fast to positions of
strength while bargaining for an acceptable settlement.
This mood was reflected in statements by political and
military leaders, platform positions taken by various
political parties and the latest public opinion poll
results released Tuesday.
The skepticism in Israel derives from and to some
extent was responsible for the last-minute problems
that forced postponement of the Geneva conference
until Friday. It was to have opened Tuesday morning.
But Israel needed assurance on a variety of matters—
particularly the United Nations role—and she apparent-
ly got satisfactory answers from U. S. Secretary of
State Henry A. Kissinger during his whirlwind visit
Sunday and Monday.
Another obstacle was removed, at least temporarily,
when Damascus announced on Tuesday that it would
boycott the Geneva talks. Israel has stated firmly that
it would have no contacts with the Syrians until they
complied with the Geneva Convention on prisoners of
war.
Public opinion, by a slight majority, favors Israel's
(Continued on Page 6)

The Arab Threat

JERUSALEM (JTA)—A leading Egyptian journal-
'las warned his readers that the Israeli vision of
,nal peaceful relations between the Jewish state and
its Arab neighbors is not at all what the Arabs them-
selves have in mind. Sallah Jowdat, writing in a recent
issue of the magazine `Al-Mussawar', said that a normal
neighborly peace—"Sulh" in the full sense of the word
—could only come about "if the Jews of Palestine . . .
live together with the Arabs of Palestine in a secular
state with no racialist characteristics whatsoever, and
within the numerical proportions that existed before
1948."
Only if the Jews who arrived after 1948 returned to
their countries of origin, leaving solely the pre-1948
Palestinian Jews and their children in the country
alongside the Palestinian Arabs,—only then could the
term "Sulh"—perhaps—be used, Jowdat explained.
He wrote that Arabic has two words to translate
the English "peace"—"Sulh" and "Salaam". After
1967, he recalled, Golda Meir had said that she wanted
Salaam to prevail so that she could drive in her car to
Cairo or Damascus and go shopping there.
He warned that the Geneva conference might con-
fuse the two terms Sulh and Salaam—but as far as the
Arabs were concerned this was to be strictly a Salaam
conference, not a Sulh conference. If Israel agreed to
(Continued on Page 6)

Officially invited by the two co-sponsoring governments, the United States and the Soviet Union,
to preside at the Geneva peace conference, United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim will offi-
cially open the sessions at 10:30 a.m. today. Abba Eban heads the Israel delegation at the conference.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmi represents his government.
President Nixon named Ellsworth Bunker, an ambassador at large, as chief of the U. S. delega-
tion to the Geneva meetings.
The Israeli delegation, accompanying Foreign Minister Eban to the conference, includes Deputy
Director General Ephraim Evron; Israel's ambassador to Italy, Moshe Sasson, an Arab affairs expert;
legal adviser Dr. Meir Rosen; and three of the foreign ministry's senior advisers—Shmuel Divon (Arab
affairs), Mordehai Kidron (UN affairs) and Eytan Bezur (political adviser).
Waldheim received the invitation to convene the conference on Tuesday from Soviet Ambassador
Yakov Malik and U. S. Ambassador W. Tapley Bennett. The letter said the Soviet Union and the United
States have been informed by their parties "of their readiness to participate in the conference."
The conference, the letter stated, will be under the auspices of the UN and under the co-
chairmanship of the U. S. and the USSR. It added that the participation of the other Middle East par-
ties will be discussed in the first phase of the conference.
Waldheim gave each of the invited ambassadors an identical letter plus copies of letters he
received from the two superpowers. The U. S. and USSR letter urged Waldheim to circulate the letter
to members of the Security Council. The letter concluded: "We believe it will be appropriate for the
president of the Security Council to consult informally with the membership with a view to securing a
favorable consensus of the council." This definitely assigns to the UN a role in the Geneva deliberations.
U. S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and USSR Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko are
the chief supervisors of the Geneva conference.
Dr. Kissinger concluded his Middle East tour with his consultations with Israel's government
leaders, apparently having assured them that American support for the Jewish state will not be inter-
rupted.
Adoption by the U.S. Senate, Monday, of the $2,200,000,000 measure providing emergency aid
for Israel heartened Israelis in their hope for uninterrupted U.S.-Israel friendship.
Pro-Arab statements were issued by Fahmi and Gromyko upon their arrival in Geneva. (Story
on Page 28).
Syria's withdrawal from the Geneva conference is believed to stem from the refusal to release
the names of Israeli prisoners of war. There is a growing feeling in Washington circles, coinciding
with Israel's charges, that most of the Israeli POWs have already been murdered by Syrians.
The Israeli cabinet met Wednesday afternoon—the third time this week—to complete details for
the Geneva conference and hear from foreign minister Eban the outline of his speech to the opening
session.
Premier Golda Meir delivered a political statement Thursday morning to the Knesset on Israel's
decision to take part in the conference. She said the opening session, focusing on arrangements and
procedure rather than disengagement of forces, would take two to three days.
(Detailed stories of Kissinger consultations with Israeli leaders, belief that Syrians have mur-
dered the Israeli POWs and the Senate action on aid to Israel in stories on pages 5, 13, 14 and
,-, • 46).

Kurt Waldheim

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger and USSR Foreign Minister
Andrei Gromyko at UN General Assembly session.

Abba Eban