The Israel Cabinet met today to discuss the proposal by U. S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles on Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza and Akaba areas under assurances of free passage of Israeli ships through the Gulf of Akaba.
The Cabinet meeting took place in the home of Prime Minister David Ben Gurion here and was divided in two parts. During the intermission, Premier Ben Gurion received U. S. Ambassador Edward B. Lawson.
An official communique issued after the meeting stated that the Israel Government heard reports of the talks between Israel Ambassador Abba Eban and Secretary Dulles and Deputy Under-Secretary Robert Murphy in Washington. It revealed that instructions had been sent to the Israeli delegation at the United Nations. (At the time the Bulletin went to press there was no indication of the nature of these instructions.)
It is understood that the crucial point at the Cabinet meeting was whether the obscure statements made by Egyptian President Nasser to Secretary Dulles can be taken as “adequate guarantees” of Israel’s free use the Gulf of Akaba.
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