Britain Pessimistic on Providing Defensive Arms to Israel

Whatever the outcome of the international Suez Canal conference which opens here Thursday, Israel is unlikely to receive increased military assistance from Britain, it was indicated here today. Stress was laid on Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden’s stand that Britain’s quarrel is with Egyptian President Nasser and not with the Arab world.

It was predicted that before long there will be new moves by Britain to win the now hostile Arab opinion to its side. The view is taken that just as the Suez Canal is essential to Britain for the transportation of its oil supplies, so the friendship of the Arab countries which produce this oil is equally, if not more, essential to Britain. This is one of the major reasons behind Britain’s reluctance to link the Suez Canal and Arab-Israel disputes in any way. It also accounts for the fact that Sir Anthony in his broadcast review of the Suez Canal dispute last week made no reference to Israel’s case. The nearest he came to it was to ask his listeners to look at Nasser’s “record.”

On the arms to Israel issue there is one further and important reason why Britain is not expected to be more forthcoming. That is the position of the United States, which is looked to by all the Western nations for the lead in this matter and which remains, as before, opposed to further supplies to Israel. There is no doubt in the minds of observers here that if the United States had made available only token supplies of certain kinds of arms to Israel in months past, the other Western Powers would have been prepared to satisfy many of the Jewish State’s urgent needs.

There is no indication in London that the United States attitude has changed. In fact, with Secretary of State Dulles parading as the man who stopped Britain and France from going to war with the Arab world, political circles here expect some further pro-Arab American moves. In view of British observers, supplying arms to Israel is not likely to be one of these.