The British Government’s ending of its embargo on arms shipments to Egypt has hit Israel as “one more confirmation of her belief that in the new honeymoon period which seems to be beginning between the Western Powers and the Arab states she has been left out in the cold to her grave disadvantage,” the Times of London declared editorially today.
The editorial added that it is important at this time to convince Israel that in strengthening the Arab States, the Western Powers are showing no hostility to her and to impress upon the Arab states that the supply of arms gives them no license for aggressive action.
The same point was stressed yesterday by the Evening Standard, which noted that the Arab alliance is not a defensive combination against the Soviet Union but is solely concerned with Israel. Noting the Israeli desire for peace and the constant Arab reiteration at the United Nations and elsewhere that they will not make peace with Israel, the Standard said that it was inevitable that in these circumstances Israel should see the supplying of arms to Egypt as a threat to Israel’s existence.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
