Premier Levi Eshkol declared here last night, in a reference to United States criticism of Israel’s November 13 raid into Jordan, that Israel would not accept United States views on such issues if those views clashed with Israel’s vital interests. He stressed that generally the two Governments had a good understanding.
Addressing a gathering of 70 university professors, the Premier said that the U.S. Government had been angered by the raid but that this was one of those things that could not be helped.
Since the raid, he said, the tide of the security situation had started to turn for the better. He remarked that King Hussein was still reigning in Jordan, that foreign Arab troops had not entered Jordan and that incursions into Israel by Arab saboteurs had virtually ceased. He hinted that the Soviets might be credited for the suspension of guerrilla raids from Syria.
The Premier also described efforts to improve relations with the Soviet Union as bringing no favorable response so far. He also said he had tried very hard for a new approach to Israel’s defense problems but that in his three years as Premier he had found that the correct course was that which was followed in the prior 15 years.
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