Arabs Warn of Massive Israeli Attack Planned Against Jordan

Al Ahram, the authoritative Egyptian Government newspaper, joined today in the concerted Arab chorus of warning against alleged Israeli plans to launch a massive attack on Jordan just prior to or after the June 5 anniversary of the outbreak of the Arab-Israel war last year. The Cairo paper, according to a dispatch to the London Evening Standard, reported from Amman that Israel was massing 30,000 men, plus tanks and armored cars, along the Jordan-Israel cease-fire line in preparation for attacks on Arab commando camps.

(The Christian Science Monitor reported today from Amman that military circles there were apprehensive of a new Israeli attack around June 5. In addition to attacks from Israeli forces concentrated near the Sea of Galilee, the Jordanians told American newsmen, Israelis would also sweep down from the heights of Golan in a move to capture Amman and cut off 25,000 Iraqi forces garrisoned in the Irbid area.)

Jordanian sources asserted in Amman today that Israeli patrols which tried to cross the Jordan to the East Bank last night were repulsed in a 35-minute battle. The Jordanians said the incident took place near the King Hussein Bridge, about 20 miles south of the Sea of Galilee.

Arab leaders today called off a mass march of Palestinian Arabs from Jordan to the West Bank which was supposed to take place June 5. The march had been announced by the “Committee of Palestinian Intellectuals” and was modeled after the Poor Peoples March in Washington, D.C. It was cancelled for “technical reasons” according to a spokesman for the group in Beirut, Lebanon. Arab radio broadcasts said the war anniversary would be marked by a massive air display, speeches by King Hussein in Amman and assorted rallies, strikes, fasting and prayers.