While the Israel Embassy declined comment today on the meeting at the State Department yesterday between Ambassador Abba S. Eban and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, it was understood in official circles that Mr. Eban is now in a position to give the Israel Government a somewhat more specific picture of American plans in the development of the declared American policy of increasing stability in the Middle East.
The meeting yesterday was of 50 minutes duration. George V. Allen, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, participated in the talks.
Mr. Eban was believed to feel that the Israel Government needs further elucidation of what the United States had in mind and this was the explanation of his conversation with Mr. Allen today–within 24 hours of the talk with Mr. Dulles.
It is considered likely in official circles here that the next development of American initiative beyond the northern tier concept may effect both Israel and one or more of the Arab States not included within the northern tier arrangement.
It appears that the talks begun between Secretary Dulles and the Ambassador last August, in the view of the Israel Embassy, led the Department of State to undertake a study of alternative ways of stabilizing the situation in the Middle East with reference, among other things, to Israel’s security problems. The results of this study are now only beginning to emerge, in the opinion of Israel diplomats.
Meanwhile, the Israel position is that Israel’s concern continues undiminished and has even been intensified by British adherence to the Turkish-Iraqi pact which further emphasizes Israel’s exclusion from the specific guarantees and reinforcements offered to the Arab States.
Final stages are now being negotiated in Jerusalem and Washington on the two American-Israel projects: the remainder of the current grant in aid program, which is expected to result in an additional 9.7 million dollars–bringing Israel’s allocation this year to $40,000,000, and an agreement enabling Israel to receive surplus food commodities valued at several millions of dollars.
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