Two prominent Israelis reacted cautiously today to reports that the United States will sell F-4 Phantom jets to Saudi Arabia. Deputy Premier Yigal Allon said that the report, if true, only confirms Israel’s need for defensible borders on its Eastern frontier. Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s former Ambassador to Washington, said the report should remind Israelis that the U.S., while committed to maintaining a strong Israel, has other interests in the Middle East.
Allon, speaking at Kiryat Ono, said that supersonic Phantom jets in Saudi Arabian hands would increase the flight range of Arab forces. He said Israelis must remember that their Eastern frontier is not just a border with Jordan but the boundary of a vast Arab hinterland extending to the Persian Gulf. He said that when discussing compromises on the territorial question. Israel must insist on permanent frontiers marked by the Jordan River, the Dead Sea and the deep Jordan rift. He said that the reported American decision to sell Phantoms to Saudi Arabia only substantiated this need.
Rabin, addressing the Labor Alignment’s kibbutz faction here, warned that any arms supplies to the Arabs was cause for concern in Israel. “Any American decision on the Middle East must take into account her other interests besides Israel even if these decisions may slightly endanger Israel.” Rabin said. He called on his countrymen to exercise “utmost vigilance.”
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