Official sources today revealed that President Eisenhower personally decided against approval of the arms list submitted by Israel. They said the this decision, originally recommended by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, has been incorporated into basic policy by Mr. Dulles.
At the same time, State Department sources said today that the United States has no intention of selling military jet planes to Israel regardless of whether other nations halt their shipments to Israel. They indicated that the State Department now accepts the premise that the real purpose of Israel’s application for arms was not so much to obtain weapons but to “force” an action by the United States in support of Israel. In the view of some State Department experts, Israel sought arms here as a means of complicating Arab-American relations at a time when the Soviet Union sought to link American with Israel.
The State Department is taking the position that it is not in America’s security interest to be more closely identified with Israel. Such identification, it was said here, might further propel the Moslem world toward Moscow. The whole policy and concept of “impartiality” was conceived as a means of avoiding this “Communist trap,” according to authorities here.
The views of the State Department were made known just after France and Canada had announced yesterday that they would halt shipments of jets to Israel until the United States agrees to participate in such sales and thus share responsibility. France has sold 24 Mysteres to Israel. But Canada has not yet released any of the Sabre jets under order.
ISRAELIS CHARGE U.S. WITH CREATING ARMS IMBALANCE IN MIDDLE EAST
Israel circles here charged the United States with causing an imbalance of arms between Israel and the Arab countries by refusing to share responsibility with other Western powers. This view may be communicated to Secretary Dulles by Israel Ambassador Abba Eban who is expected to discuss Israel’s arms application with Mr. Dulles next week.
The Israelis hold that any oral restraint exercised by Soviet Foreign Minister Shepilov, in connection with Israel, on his recent visit to the Arab countries does not compensate for the lack of restraint exhibited in the heavy Communist arms shipments to the Arabs. A feeling is held among Israelis that the State Department should note Egyptian President Nasser’s new warlike expressions.
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