There is a difference between the views of the United States and those of Israel on how the pending Iraqi-Turkish pact will affect the Jewish State. The State Department is describing the pact as a good omen for Israel, but Israel diplomats consider such optimism illusory and continue to express opposition to United States arms shipments to Iraq.
American officials maintain that as Iraq comes closer to a Western defensive alliance it will lessen its hostility toward Israel. But diplomatic sources cite the case of Pakistan which entered into such accord with the West but has emerged more anti-Israel than ever. It was Pakistan which took a leading role in preventing Israel from receiving at invitation to a forthcoming conference of Asian national in Indonesia.
It is believed here that when Israel Ambassador Abba Eban met with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles this week he expressed the view that Israel fails to see how an Iraqi-Turkish pack would help dissolve Israel-Arab tension. Israel feels that such a pact in no sense reduces the danger to the Jewish State from arms furnished to Iraq by the United States.
It has a become known here that Israel diplomats are not interested in private diplomatic assurances that the Arab government really want to make peace with Israel, but are temporarily prevented from doing so because they must consider public opinion at home. The Israel answer to this is that Arab statements for domestic consumption scoring Israel help create the anti-Israel climate of opinion. At his meeting with Secretary Dulles, it is believed that Ambassador Eban cited recent Syrian and Egyptian statements indicating a desire to renew aggression against Israel.
(From Cairo it was reported today that Premier Nuri as-Said of Iraq, who aroused bitter criticism in some Arab states by agreeing to an Iraq-Turkish defense pact, will not attend the Arab league Premiers conference here on Saturday. Egypt called the meeting to discuss the pact. His decision was seen as additional evidence of the sharp split that may destroy the Arab League over question of aligning with the West in a Middle East defense pact.)
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