The “summit conference” of kings and presidents from 13 Arab states convoked by Egyptian President Nasser to take measures against Israel’s water development project of pumping water from Jordan River and Lake Tiberias to the arid Negev, opened here today, with indications that the Arab rulers will wind up with a lot of talk but with little action, except intensified anti-Israel propaganda at the United Nations.
King Hussein of Jordan, who is one of the participants in the summit conference, today indicated his mood by stating that he is ready “to spearhead any Arab decision toward restoring Palestine, which must be discussed as a whole and not only about the Jordan waters.” Jordan is already working on diverting waters from the Yarmuk River, a tributary that enters the Jordan south of Lake Tiberias.
Reports reaching here today from Cairo stated that the ambassadors of the United States and Britain in Egypt have indicated to President Nasser the anxieties of their governments over the measures which the summit conference may decide upon in attempting to counter Israel’s water development plan. The reports said that the American envoy in Cairo has made it clear that the United States would intervene if Israel were to be attacked.
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