Israel Seeking Clarification of U.S. Arms Deal with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

Foreign Minister Abba Eban told the Knesset today that contacts were proceeding with the U.S. Government at the present time to clarify American arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. While stressing that U.S. Middle East policy has not changed, Eban said the quantity and quality of weapons in Arab hands affected Israel’s security because, despite their deep divisions, the Arab states comprise “a sort of common market” when it comes to arms and “are united in their hatred of Israel.”

Eban said that Israel’s “mutual links of confidence with the U.S. enable us to clarify frankly” such problems. Official sources here have indicated concern over reports that the U.S. plans to sell $1 billion worth of arms to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Although the arms sales are intended to bolster the pro-Western Persian Gulf states against the Soviet-backed regime in Iraq, Israel fears that at least some of the weapons may eventually reach Egypt.

The arms deal with Saudi Arabia is said to include the purchase by that country of more than $500 million in U.S. naval craft, military communications equipment and training assistance. U.S. Government officials have indicated that as many as 19 naval craft may be sold to Saudi Arabia and that Kuwait is negotiating for the purchase of an additional $500 million worth of weaponry including tanks and planes.

Eban said that Israel understood the need to establish relative security in the Persian Gulf area. But he cited the recent transfer of French Mirage jets bought by Libya to Egypt and the presence in Egypt of British Hunters from Iraq and Saudi Arabia as ample proof that weapons are interchangeable between the Arab states despite their ideological differences and rivalries.

In a Knesset speech that touched on a wide range of foreign policy matters, Eban said that Israel was unwilling to play a part in the artificially created war fever currently generated by Cairo. He said that Israel was nevertheless reacting with military alertness.

REJECTS CHANGES IN RESOLUTION 242

The Foreign Minister rejected in advance any changes in Resolution 242 which the Arabs might attempt to push through during the Security Council’s Middle East debate next month. He said that Israel “would not be bound by any addition or explanation or new formulation which denies us the right to fix the peace borders through negotiation and free agreement.” He said that any such new formulation would deprive Resolution 242 of its universal acceptability.

Eban also rejected proposals for new UN committees or representatives for the Middle East. He said that “If there were willingness to negotiate there would be no lack of channels of communications or machinery for it.” He said several Security Council members have come around to agreeing with Israel on this in recent weeks. The Foreign Minister denied emphatically that Israel had missed any opportunities for peace negotiations since the 1967 war. He said the fact that various opportunities were not fruitful was not the fault of Israel.

Eban reported that Israel’s direct contacts with African leaders in recent months have had some success in countering the effects of Arab “money diplomacy” in Africa. While he would not detail Israel’s efforts, he said that the summit meeting of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) now going on in Addis Ababa has witnessed the rejection by several African leaders of Libyan-led attempts to interfere in the affairs of African states.

Eban noted Israel’s new diplomatic ties with South Vietnam and said he hoped for ties one day with Hanoi. He said he also hoped for a more realistic policy toward Israel by the Peoples Republic of China which presently supports the most radical of the Arab terrorist groups.