Egypt now has at least 10 surface-to-air missile launching bases similar to those set up by the Soviet Union in Viet Nam. This was disclosed there this weekend by Israel’s Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Rabin, who warned that Egypt was now also expected to be receiving newer and better aircraft, new T-55 tanks and modern naval equipment. Addressing a luncheon meeting of the Engineers Club here, Gen. Rabin said that Arab hostility toward Israel remains unabated, and Israel’s basic security problems remain unchanged.
Referring to Israel’s efforts to meet the challenge of the improved Egyptian armaments, the general said that, while he could not disclose publicly how Israel hopes to achieve superiority, “all I can say is that many vast efforts are being made. We are not content with leaving the balance as it is, but we intend to improve it further to our advantage.”
The problems involved, Gen. Rabin declared, are no longer political but fiscal. “If I had to single out outstanding issues of recent past and the predictable future,” he said, “I would pick four subjects. The first involves the water struggle in which Israel appears to have retained the upper hand; the second concerns developments in inter-Arab relations, showing the clearcut decline of Nasser’s influence; the third issue involves the renewed and intensified armament drive of the Arab countries; and the fourth is the new wave of Palestinian nationalism–the outcome of frustrated hopes and disappointments.”
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