Israel’s Opposition to Eden’s Proposals Reiterated in London

A restatement of Israel’s objections to the “compromise” proposals made three weeks ago by Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden was made today by Israel Ambassador Eliahu Elath in rebuttal of a dispatch from Jerusalem published by the Times of London to which Sir Anthony referred in Parliament yesterday.

Asserting that the Times dispatch creates the “false impression that there is likely to be some change” in the Israel Government’s attitude toward Sir Anthony’s proposals, Mr. Elath noted that the Israel Government’s rejection–with the united support of the Israel people, he stressed–is based on the demand for one-sided territorial concessions from Israel before negotiations begin.

Israel cannot but view the latest British proposals against the background of British Government handling of a number of matters vitally affecting Israel’s welfare, Ambassador Elath continued. He recalled that these matters included British supplies of arms to the Arabs, and its attitude toward the Arab economic boycott of Israel and toward the Egyptian blockades of the Suez Canal and the Strait of Tiran–leading to Israel’s southern port of Elath.

Most important, however, Mr. Elath emphasized, was the security aspect. It detailed the treatment given Israel’s requests for the purchase of arms for “legitimate self-defense” as pledged in the Tripartite Declaration of 1950, noting that Britain had resumed supplying Egypt with arms after the Suez settlement and had increased the arms flow to Iraq after that nation joined Turkey in the Bagdad Pact. But, when Israel attempted to buy arms from Britain to prevent the military balance being tilted against her, she “saw the greater part of her list of requirements struck out. In particular, she was refused Centurion (heavy) tanks of which 32 were reported to have been already supplied to Egypt.”