(9 of 9)
All in all, if the Israelis do finally with draw, that will be a victory for the TJ.S. and for the U.N. But the U.S. will also have obtained a concession from the Israelis, which in turn implies an obligation on the part of the U.S. Though the tortuous indirections of the statements and documents made public at the U.N. contain no verbal promises, the understanding is nevertheless as clear as it can be in the circumstances. Israelis will henceforth go down to the sea in ships from Elath as in Solomon's day and sail the Gulf of Aqaba with the right of "free and innocent passage," and the maritime nations of the world, among them the U.S., have freely conceded their right to do so. For David Ben-Gurion, obviously, this is a victory for which even Gaza may be forgone.
*Though only two weeks before he had pro claimed: "We will never start a war. We do not believe that wars provide comprehensive solutions to historic problems."