Informed sources here today denied persistent reports from Washington that the United States had “warned” Israel against taking action against the Kingdom of Jordan. The Arab States have been asserting that Israel intended to attack Jordan following withdrawal of the British troops there and to annex the Jordan-held territory on the west bank of the Jordan River.
The United States Embassy here, it is known, has been in routine contact with the Israel Government on the Jordan situation ever since the British landings in Amman. Within the framework of these discussions, it is learned, when Moscow and Cairo opened a propaganda barrage warning of “imminent Israel aggression” against Israel, the American Embassy asked for Israel’s evaluation of the reasons behind the campaign. It was made clear then that the Embassy considered the Soviet-Arab charges baseless.
Israel, in reply to this request, it is understood, pointed to the similarity between the present propaganda campaign against Israel and a propaganda smoke screen put up by Cairo against Turkey and Israel a year ago. When the smoke had cleared, the Israelis reminded the Americans, Gamal Abdel Nasser had annexed Syria.
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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.