The proposal that Britain consider asking Israel for the lease of bases for troops it may have to withdraw from Jordan was made today by the Manchester Guardian.
In an editorial, the liberal newspaper noted that the new Egyptian-led Arab galaxy in the Middle East is virtually surrounding Israel, isolating Iraq which the newspaper considers pro-West, and squeezing out Britain. If, on top of the current military alliance among Egypt, Syria and Jordan, the Egyptians and Saudi Arabians convince Amman to accept financial aid from them instead of Britain, British forces may be asked to leave Jordan, the Manchester Guardian said.
Should Israel hold out the possibility of British bases at Haifa and Elath, the newspaper continued, the British Government may have to consider such a course. It stressed that while the first reaction of the British to the Arab scheming would be to wash its hands of the whole affair, Britain does have commitments through the United Nations and the Tripartite Declaration to keep the peace in the Middle East.
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