§ 12. Mr. Dodds-Parkerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will now name the dispute over Jordan waters at the United Nations Security Council as a threat to peace.
§ 17. Mr. Jacksonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will now instruct the United Kingdom representative at the United Nations to raise the issue of the Jordan waters dispute under Article 24(1) of the Charter to ensure the maintenance of international peace and security.
§ Mr. George ThomsonI have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Dodds-Parker) on 26th April.
§ Mr. Dodds-ParkerAs there is a lull in this area, owing to the preoccupations of some of the protagonists elsewhere, would not this be a good moment to take an initiative on the Johnson Plan, which I am sure the Minister of State realises was accepted at the time by all the limitrophe Powers?
§ Mr. ThomsonAs I told the hon. Gentleman on the last occasion when he raised this matter in the House, Her Majesty's Government regard the Johnson Plan as a useful guide line in regard to the allocation of the Jordan Waters between the Arab States and Israel, and we will continue to pursue that point of view.
§ Mr. JacksonWould not the Minister of State agree that, with the great tension on the Syrian-Israel frontier, it would be valuable in a purely de facto sense to increase the number of United Nations observers along that line so as to minimise the danger of accidental clashes?
§ Mr. ThomsonAs my hon. Friend knows, the Government are generally sympathetic to playing our part in strengthening any of the United Nations peace-keeping operations, and we would certainly support all measures which the U.N.T.S.O. Chief of Star considered necessary for the sufficient execution of the duties of his organisation.
§ Lady TweedsmuirWhat is the attitude of Her Majesty's Government to President Bourguiba's recent suggestion that in order to ease tension in this area certain United Nations resolutions should be applied, including partition?
§ Mr. ThomsonThat is a wider and rather different question, but Her Majesty's Government have said that they noted President Bourguiba's speech with interest.