Opposition to granting American military aid to Saudi Arabia “while her ruler talks of driving the Israelis into the sea at any cost,” was expressed today in an editorial in the New York Times dealing with the plans to send American arms to Arab countries in the Middle East.
“Israel is worried, and for good reasons,” the editorial says. “She is still technically in a state of war with the Arab countries. To make matters worse, King Saud of Saudi Arabia recently was quoted as calling upon the Arabs to sacrifice 10,000,000 lives if necessary to destroy Israel. He referred to the Jewish State as ‘a cancer on the body of the Arab world’ — exactly the same words used by Premier Naguib of Egypt last April. In the circumstances one must agree with Ambassador Eban of Israel that this is a ‘most inopportune moment’ to strengthen the Arabs.”
(Saudi Arabia said today that it is not negotiating any alliance with the United States which would involve non-reimbursible munitions shipments from the United States to Saudi Arabia. A Mecca broadcast stated “if there are any discussions on armaments with the United States or other governments, such are only discussions to purchase arms without condition or restriction.”)
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