Israel Embassy in Washington Says U.S. Still Has Not Replied to Israel’s Arms Request

A spokesman for the Israel Embassy today confirmed that the Israel Government has received no final answer from the United States on its application for licenses to purchase defensive arms in this country. (See page 1 for a statement by Secretary of State Dean Acheson.) The Israel official also issued the following statement:

“We are, naturally, gravely concerned as during the past three months, since we first approached the U.S. Government on this matter, Arab rearmament has been moving ahead at a very rapid pace. In that connection, it is very strange to read the alleged claims of military experts that Israel is stronger than the Arab states. While, for example, Israel has been unable to purchase a single jet plane, Egypt during the first three months of 1950 received more than 25, bringing its total to 48 with another 22 ready for delivery. According to such an authoritative source as Winston Churchill, the total number of jet planes to be sold to Egypt is 110.

“Also during this period, although the United Kingdom is under no treaty obligation to Lebanon and Syria, it has been sending new military weapons to those countries, thus completing the ring of armament around Israel. Under these circumstances, we, who are surrounded by armed belligerants, find no defensive armor in the complacency of military experts who say that the Arabs will not attack us. Let the Arabs first make peace before they are given the weapons to resume their war.

“It is clear that peace in the Near East is not promoted by a one-sided policy which places powerful arms at the disposal of the states which went to war to destroy Israel, which still demand that Israel give up some of its territory, which in defiance of international law carry on every kind of economic sanction, such as the closing of the Suez Canal, and which persist in a refusal to make peace with Israel.