Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Ambassador of Israel Eliahu Elath, and Stuart Rockwell

S/S 9197 723 Sr ARGHIVES HATIORAL AMD of MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION 110 Ecc SERVICE" April 5, 1950 SUBJECT: Arab League Attitude toward Negotiations with Israel. PARTICIPANTS: S - The Secretary The Ambassador of Israel ANE - Mr. Rockwell COPIES TO: NEA (2), s/s (2), ANE, DRN, MD, UNA, CIA, USUN, Amembassy, Baghdad Anlegation, Amman Amembassy, Cairo Amlegation, Damascus Amembassy, Jidda Amlegation, Beirut Amembassy, Tel Aviv Consulate General, Jerusalem Amembassy, London I received Ambassador Elath at his request. He said that he had been instructed by his Government to take up with me on the most urgent basis the attitude recently displayed by the Arab League concerning nego- tiations by the Arab states with Israel. The Ambassador said that the Israeli Government was seriously dis- turbed by the resolution adopted by the Arab League providing that any Arab state which negotiated a peace with Israel without the consent of the League would be considered as automatically out of the League and would be subject to economic boycott by the other Arab states. The Israeli Government was particularly disappointed because of the harmful effect this resolution would have on the Israeli conversations with the Jordanians. The Israelis believed that chances for negotiating an Israeli - Arab peace with all the Arab states together were very poor, and that individual negotiations between Israel and the separate Arab states were likely to be much more productive. After the League resolution, the Israeli Government thought that it would be more difficult to come to peace terms with Abdullah. The Israeli Government also thought that the presence of the Mufti as a delegate in the League meeting had made an unfortunate impression in the Arab world. The Mufti was the personification of Arab violence, and his presence in the League meeting might strengthen the hands of those Arabs who desired the resumption of hostilities. The Israeli ASSIFIED CON, E. O, 11652, Sec. 3(B) and (D) or Depr. of State lexter, 1.26.79 Ro JECT NLT 7p.72 He , 2.15.99