According to reliable sources here, France intends to continue its arms deliveries to Libya despite the Arab federation agreement signed by the presidents of Egypt, Syria and Libya. The federation agreement provides for a unified military command and for a close collaboration between the three member states in the fields of military equipment and arms manufacture. Under the new agreement which also provides for unanimity in deciding for either “war or peace,” Libya has become, according to the official French embargo definition, a country “actively engaged in the Middle East battlefield.” In spite of this new development, the French government intends “for the time being” to continue its deliveries of Mirage planes to Libya as provided by the arms agreement signed by the two states. The usually reliable “Le Monde,” quoted “competent French sources” as explaining that “in any case the Libyan Air Force will become operative only in a few years time.” These sources are further quoted by “Le Monde” as saying that “there is no cause to worry as Israel’s military leaders have often in the past stressed, and probably rightly so, that Israel’s armed forces are superior to those of all the Arab states together.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
