Finanoe Minister Levi Eshkol, in his capacity-of Acting Premier–in the absence from the country of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion–told the Cabinet at its weekly meeting here yesterday that the Government is still checking uncorrobated reports that West Germany has resold to Portugal some of the arms sold by Israel to the Bonn Government.
Mr. Eshkol reprimanded those political parties who have been attacking the Government for this alleged occurrence without checking “unfounded reports.” The reports claim that Portugal bought from Germany 10,000 Israeli-made “Uzi” submachine guns which it is using against the independence movement in Angola, Africa.
In the past, Mr. Eshkol told the Cabinet, the Government has rejected bids for arms made directly or indirectly for the purpose of suppressing peoples fighting for freedom from colonial rule. Reports about such alleged sales, the Acting Premier said, are likely to cause grave harm to Israel’s relations with African and Asian countries.
Mr. Eshkol laid down the Government’s policy regarding sales of arms to foreign countries. Such sales, he said, are made only with the approval of the Cabinet, and are negotiated on the assumption they will not be resold to a third party.
In the future, Mr. Eshkol assured the Cabinet, the Government will not sell arms to any country likely to resell the weapons. The Government, he said, will also study the insertion into arms-sale contracts of a clause specifically forbidding the resale of the arms to any power intending to use the weapons for the purpose of continuing a colonial regime.
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