Israeli officials stressed today that the severance of diplomatic relations by the Republic of Chad need not lead to a “domino” process in which Israel’s relations with other African states will crumble. The officials noted that African states were inundating Israel with requests for aid. They also stressed that Israel’s ties with the African states are not conditional on their supporting Israel in the United Nations nor is the friendship of the African countries mirrored by their actions at the UN.
The break with Chad has apparently caused more sorrow than concern here. Foreign Minister Abba Eban, reporting to the Cabinet in a special session today, said that relations with the regime of President Francois Tombalbaye had always been friendly and he could see no reason why the President should have wanted to break them. He noted that Israel has aided Chad by training its students here and by sending Israeli experts there.
Observers here believe that the Chad government acted under pressure of Moslem rebels in the north who have been fighting the regime since 1968, and that President Tombalbaye broke relations with Israel to placate them. But the observers also believe a sinister role was played by Saudi Arabia and Libya, Chad’s northern neighbor.
Libya is known to have been pressuring Chad for years to sever relations with Israel. Such a move was foreshadowed by an extreme anti-Israel statement issued by President Tombalbaye and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia who visited Chad last week.
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