The Government of Israel is satisfied with the opposition displayed by the American, British and French governments against the development of an arms race in the Middle East, an Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman declared today. He was commenting on the Big Three statement announcing that arms deliveries to the Middle East are conditional upon the assurance that the purchasing state does not intend to undertake aggressive action against any other state.
“The fact that arms and war materiel have hitherto been supplied to states which did not cease to threaten a renewal of the war against Israel and which to this day obstinately refuse to make peace still remains a source of grave concern,” the Israel spokesman continued. He voiced the Jewish state’s interpretation of today’s joint American-British-French declaration as signifying an end to the discrimination hitherto practiced in the shipment of arms and war supplies to Middle East countries.
The Israel Government notes with particular satisfaction, the spokesman continued, that the joint declaration asserts unalterable opposition to the use of force or the threat of force in the Middle East. He emphasized that the government seizes this opportunity to reassert its desire for a final peace settlement with the Arab states and once again repeats its invitation to each and every Arab state to enter into immediate negotiations for such a settlement.
It is the unalterable policy of Israel to promote security, friendship and cooperation in its relations with all of her neighbors for prosperity and stability in the Middle East and for peace among all nations, the spokesman concluded.
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