Egypt warned again today that renewed fighting could lead to a new all-out war, it was reported here. Arab foreign ministers and ambassadors ended a three-day meeting in Cairo and returned home to consider how to retaliate against countries that sell arms to Israel. The Arab press has repeatedly carried reports that the United States was sending 150 Patton tanks and Britain Centurion tanks to Israel. Both countries have denied the reports.
Britain’s new Ambassador to Cairo, Sir Richard Beaumont, has so far not presented his credentials to President Nasser. Some observers said this was the case because Egypt was not satisfied with Britain’s denials of arms shipments to Israel. Sir Richard however, met with Egypt’s undersecretary for foreign affairs, Salah Gomer, to discuss the Israeli-Egyptian Suez duels.
The semi-official Cairo daily Al Ahram warned today that the tense situation on the Suez Canal “carries the threat of another general war in the area.” Egypt’s official government spokesman, Dr. Mohammed el-Zayyat, told a press conference yesterday that Egypt had every right to pursue a military policy of active self-defense. He claimed that Israel was moving missiles into the canal zone. “We have every right to pre-empt this,” he declared, adding, “It is not our understanding that the cease-fire is going to last 99 years and it is not our understanding that this is going to be the frontier of Israel.”
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.
