The Israel Government has offered the port of Haifa to Britain and the United States as Allied naval base and as headquarters for the Middle East Command, the London newspapers reported today. The report said that the offer was turned down because of fear that, if accepted, it might offend the Arab states.
Allied military command in the Middle East will be officially established in January with headquarters in Cyprus, it was indicated here today. It is believed that General Sir Brian Robertson will be named chief of the command, with an American general as deputy. A Turkish officer will head the land forces, an American will head the air forces and a British commander will direct the naval forces.
The Times of London came out today with a warning against supplying the Arab states with arms in connection with the establishment of the Middle East Command. “The Arab states,” the paper points out, “still treat Israel as their mortal enemy; furthermore, they distrust each other and are not free from internecine designs among themselves. To distribute more arms among them may be dangerous.”
Hope was expressed in Allied circles here today that Israel and some of the Arab states will join the command and that this will lead to Arab-Israel reconciliation and a formal peace agreement. It was noted that the four-power defense plan for the Middle East attempts to reconcile the interest of Israel and the Arab states, to make their participation in the command attractive and to avoid trespassing on their sovereignty.
It was pointed out that the statement issued by the four powers definitely indicated that none of the countries joining the Middle East command will have to place their armed forces under this command in peace-time. Also, that no foreign troops will be stationed on their territory except by agreement. These stipulations were included in the statement with a view to allay Israeli or Arab fears that they may lose sovereignty by joining the Allied command.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
