“We cannot forever restrain ourselves in the face of provocative acts.” Brigadier Yaacov Dori, chief of staff of the Israeli Army, warned in a speech at Haifa last night. He was referring to the Akaba situation.
“We cannot tolerate the penetration of the frontiers of our land by an Arab country,” he declared. Serving notice that unless the Arab states provide sincere assurances and tangible proof of the in desire for peace the Israelis will be free to act as they see fit, Brig. Dori pointed out that some of the Arab states maintained armed reserves on Israel’s borders. He insisted that Israel desired peace, but added that peace had no reality unless it also carried guarantees that it would endure.
Commenting for the second time in two days on reports of clashes in the Akaba area, an Israeli spokesman today reiterated his denial that any such encounters had occurred. “No Israeli unit has transgressed into Transjordan territory,” he stated flatly, adding that Israel had no intention to enter Arab territory. “Israel,” he insisted, “is only concerned with her own territory.”
The spokesman charged that the Amman reports of clashes may be intended to cover Transjordanian incursions of Israeli territory, although Israel has no information that Arab troops have crossed into its territory. He also expressed the opinion that the rumors may have been spread in order to create “a special atmosphere” at the Rhodes armistice talks.
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