United States officials were investigating the confiscation this weekend by Egypt of a $100,000 American cargo removed from a Dutch ship accused of dealing with Israel. The cargo, consisting of American-made trucks and excavating equipment, was seized by the Egyptians as the Dutch ship was attempting to pass through the Suez Canal.
The trucks and equipment had been picked up in Somalia, where it had been sold to an unidentified British firm by the Paul Smith Construction Company, of Tampa, Fla. It was not clear whether the Tampa concern or the British firm owned the cargo, but the Egyptians claimed that purchase of the equipment had been facilitated through a loan by the Swiss-Israel Trade Bank of Geneva.
Marine sources here said there was doubt whether the cargo could have been bound for Israel since a shipment from Somalia to Israel would not have to go through the Suez Canal, using instead the route to Eilat, Israel via the Gulf of Akaba.
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.
