Israeli Security Review Points to Need for Heavy Arms Purchases

Israel will have to increase its arms purchases considerably in the near future to offset the steady flow of armaments–mainly Soviet–to the Arab States. The alternative would appear to be to permit an Arab build-up threatening a dangerous imbalance which might tempt the Arabs once again to try a war of annihilation against Israel.

These appeared today to be among the main conclusions of an exhaustive, 40-page review of Israel’s security situation submitted to the Cabinet yesterday by Premier and Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion. The security situation was considered so important an issue that, for the first time in 10 years. the President of Israel was asked to attend the session. In addition to President Izhak Ben-Zvi, the Chief of Staff, Brig. Chaim Laskov, and Deputy Defense Minister Shimon Peres attended the two-and-a-half-hour session.

The Cabinet, it was learned, did not discuss the implications of these conclusions in great detail, leaving the foreign and economic aspects for subsequent study after the return to Israel of Foreign Minister Golda Meir and when work begins on the 1960-61 budget.

Observers noted that the report raised a number of key questions that have to be resolved: Will the new policy of Arab appeasement being followed by the Western Powers influence the present and future acquisition of arms by Israel? What form should Israel’s arms purchases take? What effect would there be on the situation from an easing in the cold war before and during a summit conference?

From the economic viewpoint, the big questions raised were: On a short-term basis, how high can an increased defense budget–increased at the expense of Government services and development plans–go? In the long run, with the spiraling costs of modern weapons, how long will Israel and the Arab States be able to maintain an armaments race?