Two reports by Tass, the official Soviet news agency, alleging Israeli plans to attack Arab states, were labeled by a Foreign Ministry spokesman here today as “fantasy” and “crude fiction.”
One of the Tass reports, purportedly originating in New Delhi, said that Foreign Minister Golda Meir has allegedly “agreed with the United States and France on plans for joint military operations against the United Arab Republic.” The Tass canard declared that, under the joint plans, the Western bank of the Jordan and the Sinai Peninsula would be occupied, while Jordan’s King Hussein would be compensated by ruling over a Jordanian-Syrian State.
The second “crude fiction” circulated by Tass declared that preparations have been made at Istanbul for the Turkish and Israeli general staffs to direct joint attacks against Arabs, primarily against Iraq’s ruler, Gen. Kassem. This report was datelined Athens.
Observers here noted that, in the past, Moscow spread reports of alleged imminent attacks by Israel against Arab states, whenever it wanted to frighten the Arab rulers into tightening their relations with the Soviet Union.
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.
