The issue of military protection for Arab countries involved in plans to bar Jordan River water to Israel remained bogged down in inter-Arab rivalries at the third Arab summit conference at Casablanca, it was reported here today from Morocco.
Gen. Ali Amer, Egyptian Chief of the Arab High Command, reportedly urged Jordan to permit entry of Iraqi and Saudi Arabian troops to help protect sites for diversion of the Jordan River tributaries in that country. King Hussein of Jordan was reported to have replied that this was not “the right time” to move such troops into his country, because Israel would consider such a move provocative and might attack openly. Gen. Amer reportedly contended that Israel would attack anyway as soon as serious work on the water diversion project got under way.
Only three Arab countries were understood to have argued strongly for action on the diversion project–Egypt, Iraq and Syria. Lebanon and Jordan remained opposed to outside troop entry. Libya, Morocco and Algeria stayed neutral in the debate.
A new approach to military action against Israel was proposed by Col. Houari Boumediene, head of the Algerian regime. He suggested that the “Palestine Liberation Army” be organized as guerillas rather than as the conventionally armed force proposed by Ahmed Shukairy, chairman of the PLA.
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