The summit meeting of 12 heads of state belonging to the Arab League, which concluded its sessions at Casablanca yesterday, ended with apparent decisions to delay the “holy war” against Israel by at least four years, and to go slowly on the projects to divert headwaters of the Jordan River so as to rob Israel of the Jordan waters, according to press dispatches received here.
Reliable Arab sources told the British press at Casablanca that Gen. Aly Ammer, commander-in-chief of the Arab Unified Command mapping armed conflict against Israel and protection of the Arab water diversion projects, reported at a secret meeting of the summit participants that his forces would need men and equipment costing up to $400,000,000 at a minimum, and requiring at least four years for a build-up of ground and air elements sufficient to match Israel’s strength.
One Syrian source told the press that the Arabs fear to undertake war against Israel at this time because both the Soviet Union and the United States might intervene “in order to head off World War III.”
Meanwhile, however, the conference adopted strong resolutions which continued to condemn Israel and reiterated Arab threats to continue water diversion projects under the protection of Arab air cover.
(In Jerusalem, today, the regular, weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting gave special attention to reports from the Casablanca summit meeting. Particular note was taken of the fact that, on the Casablanca agenda, was an item calling for the stationing of non-Jordanian, Arab forces in Jordan to protect the latter country’s water diversion projects from possible attack by Israel. The Government’s discussion of the entire subject, it was said, would continue as further, more detailed reports about the Casablanca meeting are received here.)
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.
